VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – It was Senior Night at the Hi-Liner Activity Center on Thursday night, and once the pregame ceremonies came to a close, the Hi-Liners made quick work of the Grand Forks Red River Rough Riders in three sets. The scores were 25-15, 25-19, and 25-16.
In the first set, Valley City right away put their foot on the gas. They jumped out to the early lead and slowly but surely would keep adding to it. This first set was a breeze for the Hi-Liners, who down the stretch had no less than an eight point lead, on their way to a 10 point win. Senior Peyton Pederson was strong up front in this set, and Samantha Hatcher was strong with her serves to help the Hi-Liners take the first set 25-15.
The second set started off great for Valley City. They quickly jumped out to a 4 to 1 lead, only to see it be closed to within one. The Hi-Liners later on in the match would hold a four point lead, and once again see it diminish to just a one point lead. Finally, as the set went on the Hi-Liners flexed their muscle and pulled away for the win. In this set, Samantha Hatcher did a great job of confusing Red River by changing up the speed on her kills over the net. She would act as if she was going to put the ball through the hard wood, only to lightly tap it over the net. Grand Forks would struggle with this. Also, wanted to mention that Addy Kvilvang had a strong game up front as she has all season. Hi-Liners take the second set 25-19.
In the third set Valley City just completely dominated from the start. They didn’t give Red River any chance at a sign of life in this set, and took care of business to finish off the sweep. Kvilvang had another strong game in the front court as she continued to be a differnce maker in the match. Peyton Pederson had a strong game and would provide numerous kills for Valley City. Senior Dylann Diegel did a tremendous job of setting up her teammates continuously throughout the match to help propel the Hi-Liners to the 25-16 victory.
Stat Leaders from tonight:
Aces: Samantha Hatcher/ Jada Nelson (3)
Kills: Peyton Pederson (12)
Blocks: Addy Kvilvang (1)
Assists: Dylann Diegel (29)
Digs: Abbey Thornton (21)
With the win the Hi-Liners improve to 11-11 on the season. Valley City has one final regular season game remaining, and that will be next Tuesday, November 2nd. They travel to take on West Fargo for a 7pm match, that can be heard on KOVC.