The Rush City volleyball team hosted North Branch on Thursday night.
In a game that felt less like a regular season matchup, and more like a championship game, both teams came in looking to prove their dominance. Both teams were near the top of the section and tops in the state. As the fans piled in the tension grew and the game hadn't even started yet.
But as first serve got away, it took no time for the action to be at full force. Rush City would get on the board first and early in the opening set they controlled much of the pace. Despite falling behind early, North Branch would find a way to make a dent in the Tiger lead. But this comeback fell short as the Tigers pulled away late in the set, to take the victory 25-17.
The 2nd set appeared to be going the same way the 1st ended, dominated by the Tigers. The Vikings were not going to be outdone, they not only completed the comeback but they took their first lead of the match. And once they took that lead, there was no looking back. North Branch had picked up multiple serve aces in the set, and the Tigers had some uncharacteristic mistakes that helped lead to the Vikings pulling away. The set belonged to the Vikings 25-14.
The third set was vastly different than the first two. Neither team was able to get a lead and build on it, and the mistakes on both sides had seemingly been washed away. It was a back and forth set, that was until the Tigers swung momentum in their favor and quickly began to pull away. They had lead by as much as 8 in the set before the Vikings could try and rebound. A timeout helped but it was too little too late as the Tigers won set 3 25-16.
The fourth set would prove to be the most even of the match. Once again both teams were playing at the highest level, big hits, point saving diving digs, outstanding blocks and even some aces mixed in. Neither team could pull away, when one team score or took the lead, the other team scored and tied it once again. This trend continued throughout the entire 4th set and most people probably believed it was headed toward extra points. This was not the case, as very late in the set the Vikings had pulled ahead by one and needed only one more to claim the set. And that's just what they did winning the 4th 25-23.
It all came down to the 5th and final set. Could the Vikings hold onto that momentum swing from the 4th, or would the Tigers use that home court to their advantage? The answer, Rush City got out to an early 5 point lead 8-3, which in turn was also a late set lead since the 5th only goes to 15 points. North Branch took a timeout and after that quickly scored some much needed points. But the Tigers were rolling and kept rolling to a 15-10 set win, and won the match 3-2.
For the Tigers this signature win could possibly put them as the number one team in their section late in the season. They have two more games next week, Monday at Braham, and the presumed Great River Conference Championship game on Tuesday where they host Mille Lacs.
For the Vikings the loss certainly stings, but their ability to stick with it and comeback multiple times has to be encouraging. They'll play one more game before the postseason, next Tuesday in Becker.
Stay tuned to WCMP for updates on volleyball playoffs. We'll tell you who will play where when and of course what time.
