Photo by Samantha Davis. Outside hitter Reese Drake digs in the first set against Moorhead on Saturday afternoon in Marshall. Drake finished with 16 kills and 20 digs as Tigers won 3-0.

MARSHALL — The No. 2 Marshall girls volleyball team walked onto its home court for the final time in the 2024 regular season looking for its fourth straight win. The Tigers did just that with a sweep of the Moorhead Spuds Saturday afternoon.

In set victories of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-17, the day was bound to bring on a challenging competition as Moorhead entered the match 11-6 and held an older roster with eight seniors, compared to Marshall’s junior-heavy lineup with two seniors.

“They’re [Moorhead] a good team, they’ve got a lot of weapons. We knew it was going to be a difficult match,” Marshall head coach Dan Westby said. “We were just really pleased with our kids. We were able to keep a cushion through all three sets, which is difficult to do.”

Although it was a sweep, the win wasn’t earned easily. Marshall continued to prove itself as one of Class AAA’s top teams with double-double performances from Reese Drake and Avery Fahl.

Drake logged a team-high 16 kills and 20 digs, and Fahl finished with 16 set assists, 11 digs and five kills.

“I think we were able to limit errors, and that’s such an important part of the game,” Westby said. “Because we were able to do that, we just didn’t allow them to go on any kind of a run.”

The first set was back-and-forth with a 7-6 start, but Drake helped to keep the Marshall edge through a handful of kills. Moorhead continued to stay close, despite a few errors, by attacking right into open spots on Marshall’s backcourt.

Coming out of a timeout with a 12-9 lead, the Tigers responded with a 6-2 run by taking advantage of its rotational depth. Drake, Fahl and Laurel Ryks each contributed kills. Drake and libero Kezlyn Pinckney also managed the back row to keep the ball alive.

Ryks tallied 15 kills while Pinckney led the back row with 21 digs.

The first set match point came from another Drake kill, which dropped just over the net under two Moorhead blockers.

“We need [Drake]. We need her overall play,” Westby said. “I thought she played a very good, all-around match.”

The Spuds did what it could to force Marshall into trouble as the second set started tied at seven, and again at 12. The Tigers built a 22-16 advantage, but Moorhead found its points through hits to the middle court and forced Marshall to dive quickly in getting to the ball, plus a few Tiger attacking errors.

Marshall took matters back into its hands as Drake and Fahl notched a few more kills, Pinckney some digs and Brooke Gillingham found her teammates to pull away the set win and halt Moorhead’s pressure.

Gillingham had a team-high 18 set assists.

The Spuds looked to force a fourth set, while Marshall aimed to end the match early for its fourth consecutive sweep.

Set three was unlike the first two in that the Tigers jumped to a quick 6-1 lead. Moorhead called a timeout trailing 8-3, however, and caught up to trim the deficit to 18-14.

Protecting its court, Marshall sealed the deal and didn’t allow Moorhead to steal the set. A Drake kill and two attacking errors from the Spuds gave Marshall the clincher.

Marshall’s two seniors, Ali Pederson and Audree Larson, continue to approach the end of their prep volleyball careers with the conclusion of the match.

“Those two, they have been such good teammates. I think both players understand their role, which is not easy in this day and age for kids to do that, but those kids have,” Wetsby said. “They’ve been great leaders, and we are so fortunate to have them. They’re going to be surely missed a year from now, that’s for sure.”

The 2004 volleyball class was also honored at the game. The team marked the first of Marshall’s nine state championships under Dan Westby.

“It was fun to see those kids. They are the gold standard for Marshall volleyball, that 2004 team,” Westby said. “Every team is trying to catch the fire that group had … I think with our kids, there was maybe a little bit of added motivation to play well in front of those kids [2004 team] today.”

Marshall moves on to 18-4 overall, including winning as many as seven in a row and a total of 12 three-set sweeps so far.

“It’s going to be a challenge [moving forward],” Wetsby said. “But, our kids are doing a good job. We’re working and getting better every day.”

Marshall will next compete against the ranked competition when it travels to No. 6 Alexandria on Thursday with a 7 p.m. first serve. It also will play Belle Plaine on Oct. 15 at home in the conference championship at 7 p.m.

“It’s been a fun run so far,” Wetsby said. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”