Oakes, ND (Newsdakota.com) – The 2022 Region Semifinals was #7 Oakes vs #2 Linton-HMB. The Lions were able to not only beat the team that had brought them to 5 sets not 3 weeks before but sweep them aside convincingly. The Oakes Tornadoes of 2023 did not forget that and got their revenge sweeping the Lions on Thursday October 12th (26-24, 25-19, 25-23).

The match started back and forth with 4 ties and 2 lead changes before a team even got to 10 points. Once Linton reclaimed the lead at 10-9 they looked like they may hold on for the rest of the set not allowing the Tornadoes a way back in as they slowly built their lead to 18-13 and 21-17. That’s when Oakes would battle back to tie it 22-22 and retake the lead at 23-22. Their would be back and forth play till Oakes took the set 26-24 causing the Oakes Gym to erupt.

Set two once again saw 5 ties by the time both teams tied each other at 10 however this time Ann Muggli through the team on her back offensively and led them to a big 19-15 lead. Lily Thorpe would then take over serving with the score 20-18. She would get back to back aces to give Oakes a 24-18 lead. They would take the set 25-19 pushing Linton to the brink.

Set 3 was much the same with both teams battling back and forth early however this time the Lions jumped out to a 15-11 lead. That lead would evaporate slowly as Oakes would tie it at 17-all but Linton would again expand their lead back to 4 leading 23-19 before a timely Roxanne Miller time out allowed Oakes to regroup. The Tornadoes would then score the next 6 to win the set and the match 25-19.

The Tornadoes with the win pick up their first win of the season against a ranked opponent and rise to a 16-9 overall record.

The Bank North Players of the Game were Lexi Harris, Kassidy Jackson, and Ann Muggli.

The Tornadoes have one final regular season match as they take on Medina/Pingree-Buchanan on Tuesday Oct 17th in Oakes. Pregame starts at 6:45 game starts at 7:00 on KDDR The Tornado.