Thursday night the Ste. Genevieve Dragons (8-1) hosted the Farmington Knights (5-8-2), looking to continue their strong season as they inch closer to the playoffs. It took five competitive sets, but the Dragons eventually came out on top 3-2.
The Dragons entered Thursday night having won six games in a row and leading their division with a 5-1 record. On the other hand, the Knights started their season off slowly, but two wins in a row coming into the game provided some late-season hope for the playoffs.
The game started well for the Dragons, playing a competitive first set against the Knights, but ultimately they took the win in convincing fashion, 25-17. The Knights showed that they came to play following that first set by winning the second 25-20 and the third 25-22.
With the Knights now holding a 2-1 lead, the Dragons would need to win the final two sets to avoid taking their second loss of the season. The Knights kept the fourth set close, but the Dragons would be the ones to claim it, 25-22. The final set was a hard-fought battle between the two teams, with both trading blows to the finale, but in the end, the Dragons would come out victorious 17-15.
Senior Brittney Kreitler came up huge for the Dragons in their 3-2 victory making big plays all night. She set a team-high in assists, putting up an outrageous 58 throughout the game, to go along with two blocks and a kill.
Following the game, Kreitler said that the girls’ resiliency is what allowed them to fight back.
“I don’t think we played as well as we would’ve liked,” Kreitler said. “But after losing the second set none of the girls hung their heads. We played five hard sets and didn’t give up until that very last point.”
Another Dragon who was vital for the team’s success Thursday night was sophomore Dru Koetting. Koetting set the team-high in kills for the Dragons at 22 and added an ace and a kill.
Koetting reiterated the thoughts of her teammate, saying that the team’s ability to fight back won them the game.
“While we were in the huddle going into the fourth set we decided that we needed to play to our full potential,” Koetting said. “During the fourth set we started to talk more, make more serves and to hustle and go after everything; and it paid off.”
Other Ste. Genevieve players who made a difference Thursday night included Marysa Flieg and Abby Moore. Flieg was all over the court for the Dragons recording 16 kills, four blocks and an assist. Moore, a junior outside hitter, recorded eight kills, two blocks, an ace and an assist.
The Dragons, now 9-1, only have six games remaining before playoffs begin and coach said…
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Ste. Genevieve will look to continue its strong season Monday night when the team heads to Bismarck to take on the Indians (0-9-1).
