Photo by Emily Daniels Minneota’s Lizzy Gillingham (4) celebrates with her teammates after scoring a point during their match against Wabasso on Tuesday. The Vikings defeated the Rabbits 3-0.

MINNEOTA – After opening its season on the road, the Minneota volleyball team returned home looking to continue their strong start. The Vikings did just that, using key runs in the opening two sets before capping off a sweep (25-7, 25-12, 25-23) against the Wabasso Rabbits on Tuesday night.

Coming off of the second win of the season for the Vikings, head coach Hayley Fruin saw a lot of positive things that the team did that stood out to her and brought them to their victory.

“All around I thought that we were pretty consistent, both front row and in the back row,” said Fruin. “We did a great job limiting our errors; I thought Lizzy Gillingham really stepped up for us in the front row as well as Lydia blocking very well for us. I thought we also served really tough.”

The Vikings got things started with an early 3-2 lead but the Rabbits kept the score close as the set went on, finding themselves only one point behind Minneota at 6-5. The Vikings started to pull ahead with a steady lead after a few strong aces and kills that led them to their first double-digit lead of the night at 17-7. Minneota then took full control the rest of the set, going on an 11-point run to end the opening frame with a 25-7 win.

The second set started out fast for both teams that quickly resulted in an early 3-3 tie. Wabasso’s Cora Eichten and Kelsey Fischer were key players in the blocking game for the Rabbits up front, making strong and powerful blocks to keep the score close at 7-4. The Vikings saw a few weaknesses in the Rabbits defense that led Minneota to pull ahead with a bigger lead at 11-4. The Rabbits broke the Vikings four-point run but still continued to trail by six at 11-5.

Wabasso’s Maddy Guetter and Minneota’s Sussner traded kills on back-to-back possessions to maintain a 16-8 lead for the Vikings, before Minneota went on a 4-1 spurt to take a 20-9 advantage. A Gillingham kill then made it 23-11 before the Vikings took home the second set by a score of 25-12.

The Rabbits didn’t let a quick 2-0 deficit get in their way of playing aggressive and ready to win, however, as they started the third frame out right away with a fast 2-2 tie. Wabasso took its first lead of the game at 4-2 but the Vikings quickly tied it back up at 4-4. The points went back and forth between both teams until Minneota took the lead right back at 9-6. The fight for the win became known when Wabasso battled back hard on their side of the net to tie up the set at 14-14, as the Rabbits looked to stay alive in the match.

Gillingham was a key player for the Vikings as it came down neck and neck with the Rabbits, as well as blocks from Sussner. The Vikings took the lead at 17-15 but Wabasso didn’t let that phase them as they tied it back up at 18-18. Mckenna Nelson showed many signs of strengths and hustle plays as both teams continued to be deadlocked in a tight battle. The score was tied up again at 22-22 but the Vikings closed out with match as they had done in the previous two sets by finishing strong, highlighted by a pair of kills from Gillingham.

Wabasso head coach Barb Johnson saw a lot of positives despite the loss for the team and one of those positives that was noted was Jenna Frank’s 1,000 career assist for the Rabbits.

“I thought we played really hard,” said Johnson. “Throughout the game we got a little bit more confident in ourselves and were more aggressive, there are positives out of the loss. I was glad to see us come back in the third set and play really well there.”

Gillingham led the Vikings in kills racking in a total of 14, followed by Sussner with nine. Sussner led Minneota in blocks with three and Abby Hennen led the Vikings in digs with 19 followed by Natalee Rolbiecki with 18. For the Rabbits, Guetter led in digs with 17 followed by Megan Rothmeier with 15. Guetter also led in kills with 19. Amanda Hoffman led the Rabbits in blocks with six while Frank added three.

The Vikings will be back at home for their next match against Central Minnesota Christian Schools on Sept. 4. Wabasso will be on the road for their next game against Cedar Mountain on Sept. 6.

Minneota 3, Wabasso 0

Wabasso 7 12 23

Minneota 25 25 25

SERVING: Minneota (A. Hennen 24-24-1; Rolbiecki 10-10; Kockelman 8-8); Wabasso (Nelson 10-10; Guetter 8-8).

KILLS: Minneota (Gillingham 14; Sussner 9; A. Hennen 7); Wabasso (Guetter 19; Nelson, Hoffman 3).

DIGS: Minneota (A. Hennen 19; Rolbiecki 18; Kockelman 9); Wabasso (Guetter 17; Rothmeier 15; Huhnerkoch, Frank 8).

SET ASSISTS: Minneota (Kockelman 39); Wabasso (Frank 25).

BLOCKS: Minneota (Sussner 3; A. Hennen 2); Wabasso (Hoffman 6; Frank 3).