2 weeks Ago By Herald Sports Desk
EAST GRAND FORKS — The East Grand Forks Senior High volleyball team's season came to an end Friday night in the Green Wave's home gym. No. 5 Barnesville used 19 kills and six blocks from Abigail John to beat No.
4 East Grand Forks 26-24, 16-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-12 in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Section 8AA tournament. ADVERTISEMENT Barnesville, which lost to the Green Wave in five sets in Barnesville during the regular season, advances to face No. 1 seed Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in the section semifinals on Tuesday at Moorhead High School.
"Losing that first set was crucial," EGF coach Paula Devine said. "We hade them and let that one slip away." Barnesville finished with 17 blocks to EGF's nine.
"We had more kills and assists but they had more blocks than us," Devine said. "That was the key. We didn't block as well as we needed.
" The fifth set was tied at 10-10. Barnesville stretched the lead to 13-10, the Wave pulled within 13-12 but couldn't take the lead. "Overall, we played well and battled," Devine said.
"I knew it was going to be a fight. It's just unfortunate we came out on the short end of the stick." The Green Wave were led by a veteran lineup.
Seniors McKaylee Fitzpatrick (18 kills), Addison Kujawa (17 kills) and Ellie Marcott (17 kills) led a balanced group of hitters. ADVERTISEMENT Ellie added 39 digs, while her twin sister Emma handed out 53 assists. Fellow senior Sara Christiansen had 27 digs and a pair of service aces.
"All the seniors played hard and gave it their best shot," Devine said. "It was a tough one for me. It's a bummer the seniors had to end that way but they had great careers, and I'm proud of them.
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