The Valley City Hi-Liners have now won four of their last six matches, defeating the Grand Forks Central Knights in straight sets (25-20, 25-16, 25-18). The team effort across the board for Valley City stood out from the performance, as various role players stepped up to provide momentum-shifting moments.

The first set was a tight-knit affair as the Hi-Liners had a slim 20-19 lead after Central went on a 6-1 run to force a Valley City timeout. After the timeout, the Hi-Liners would counter with a run of their own after Brynn Lueck stabilized Valley City from the service line, making it a 24-19 game before the Knights broke up the run. But Ava Huseby and Bailey Leroux would combine for a block to quickly snuff out any potential hope for the visitors claiming the 25-20 first-set win.

The second set would be a showcase for Kadie Kocka as she racked up kill after kill and, at one point, recorded three straight aces to make it a 17-5 lead for Valley City. The service of Jovi Borg would put the match out of reach for Central, making it 24-13 before the Knights added on a few points late before a bad serve ended the set 25-16.

The third set would play out much like the second, with Valley City putting some distance between themselves and Central early on. Morgan Larson’s service midway through the set helped stretch things out to a 20-12 advantage for Valley City. An authoritative kill by Leroux put Valley City on match point up 24-16 before a fallaway shot by Borg sealed the win for Valley City, winning the third set 25-18.

Valley City’s next game is a Thursday night showdown with the Red River Roughriders in Grand Forks at 7:00 PM.