Valley City dropped a heartbreaking five-set match to the Grand Forks Red River Rough Riders, losing the final two sets.

The Hi-Liners gained an early advantage in the first set before Red River closed the gap, leading to a back-and-forth battle. The Hi-Liners were the first team to break into the 20s but couldn’t close out the Rough Riders despite reaching set point at 24-23. A misplay on a Red River serve handed the Rough Riders a 27-25 win in the first set.

The second and third sets followed a similar pattern, with Valley City initially falling behind but rallying in the middle stages to secure narrow victories. In the second set, the Hi-Liners overcame an early 14-7 deficit to win 25-21, and they took the third set 25-19, putting them one set away from their fourth consecutive win.

However, Red River’s power proved too much for the Hi-Liners in the fourth set. They briefly narrowed the score to 14-13, but a Red River timeout halted their momentum, leading to a 25-19 set loss.

The fifth set was tense, with both teams struggling to gain a significant lead. Tied at 7-7 after a Hi-Liners service error, Red River took control, outscoring Valley City 8-2 to claim the fifth set 15-9 and the match.

The Hi-Liners’ next game will be on November 5th against the Shanley Deacons, with coverage on the KOVC TV YouTube Channel.