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Blackhawks sweep Firebirds, look to finish season strong

By Ari Selvey 4 min read

MADELIA -- The Madelia Blackhawks put up a strong performance for their home fans on Monday, sweeping the Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Firebirds 25-21, 25-17, 25-18 in a nonconference volleyball match.

"We've been working really well and playing really good," Madelia head coach Melodie DeVlaeminck said. "We've been competing hard against teams. We can come out on top and connect with all our girls."

Carissa Sorenson led the Blackhawks with nine kills and two digs, while Grace Tatro had five kills and four digs. Kendall Pietsch had five kills and two digs, and Avery Tatro had 22 set assists, four digs and three aces. Emmy Johnson had 19 digs and four aces.

Ella Nachreiner had eight kills and a block for the Firebirds, while Chloe Henrichs had seven kills. Natalie Ahlbrecht had 12 set assists and a block, and Maren Kemkes had nine set assists. Kinley Bruns had 10 digs.

An ace by Avery Tatro saw the Blackhawks take a 5-2 lead to open the first set, but GFW responded with a 7-0 run, including a kill and a block by Henrichs, to go up 10-6.

"The moments that were going well was when we were playing at a faster pace," GFW head coach Imia Mages said. "The moments that were low was when we were really slow to react. Tonight we played a really high-error game, and we struggled to come back from that."

Madelia came back with a 9-1 run of their own, getting a kill from Sorenson and an ace from Hadley Hitchcock to regain a 15-11 advantage. Kills by Sorenson and Grace Tatro put the Blackhawks up 19-13, and the Firebirds put together a 6-1 run, capped off by an ace from Micahl Nachreiner and a kill from Henrichs, to cut the lead down to 20-19 and force a Madelia timeout. The Blackhawks stabilized with a kill from Grace Tatro and the Blackhawks closed out the set with a 5-2 run, with Bryleigh Arkell earning the set-ending kill.

After a close beginning, Madelia broke away in Set 2 with a 4-0 run, with Pietsch earning back-to-back kills, to go up 11-8. The Blackhawks maintained a narrow lead, despite a pair of kills from Kora Schwarzrock, then pushed ahead more with a 4-0 run, led by kills from Sorenson and Grace Tatro, as GFW called a timeout down 20-14. The Firebirds put together a 3-0 run as Ella Nachreiner had a kill and a block to cut the lead to 20-17, but Madelia again finished strong as Addie Odegard had a kill and a block of her own to complete a 5-0 run and win the set 25-17.

A kill by Grace Tatro put the the Blackhawks up 10-6 in the third set, and an ace by Johnson forced a GFW timeout with the score at 12-7. The Firebirds held on as a kill by Ella Nachreiner cut the Madelia lead to 19-14, but the Blackhawks continued to stay strong, with Sorenson ending the match with a kill.

"I think it starts with our defense," Mages said. "We need to be able to react and respond quicker so we can get a good ball to our setters so our setters can get a good ball to the net so our hitters can get behind it and get a good swing. Focusing on our defense and being able to respond in a more effective way."

Madelia (9-14) will look to close out the regular season with momentum, with games against New Ulm Cathedral (3-21) at home on Tuesday, Oct. 20 and away at Springfield (9-12) on Thursday, Oct. 22 remaining on the schedule.

"Just working on finishing out strong," DeVlaeminck said. "Finishing out with some section games, so coming out and getting wins against some teams I think we can compete really well with. Ending that and going into sections strong."

GFW falls to 5-16 and will play at Wabasso on Tuesday.

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