Volleyball: Vikings give a team effort in sweep of Medford in subsection semifinals
The Hayfield volleyball team celebrates a point scored against Medford in Mayo Civic Center in Rochester Saturday. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
ROCHESTER — The Hayfield volleyball team shared the wealth and it paid off as the Vikings swept No. 3 seeded Medford 25-21, 25-20, 25-14 in the Section 1A West Division semifinals in Mayo Civic Center Saturday.
Hayfield’s Katelyn Bjornson, right, goes up to block a hit by Medford’s Hannah Robb in Mayo Civic Center Saturday. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
Six players had at least four kills for the No. 2 seeded Vikings (20-8 overall) as they slowly wore down a scrappy Medford squad.
“If we depend on one hitter, that’s not going to work,” Hayfield head coach Jeremy Struck said. “The teams we’re playing right now are good on the blocks and we have to be able find the open spots.”
Hayfield led throughout most of the second and third games, but it took awhile for the Vikings to find their groove. The Tigers (23-8 overall) led 10-4 to open the first game and Hayfield didn’t take the lead until Dani Wagner put together a block kill and a pair of kills to put Hayfield up 23-21.
“We’ve got to get that out of our game,” said Wagner, who finished with 11 kills and 12 digs, of the slow start. “It’s kind of a normal thing now. Once we got going we’re pretty good.”
Hayfield eighth grader Maggie Streightiff gave the team a lift in the final game when she went on a 9-point serving run to put the Vikings up 18-6. Streightiff finished with five kills, 26 set assists and 19 digs.
The Hayfield middle schooler embraced playing in the Civic Center for the first time and she wasn’t rattled by the bright lights.
“It was really exciting. I want to keep going and keep pushing,” Streightiff said. “We like a challenge. We like to be pushed.”
The Vikings will look to keep their season alive when they take on top-seeded Faribault Bethlehem Academy (17-11 overall) in Mayo Civic Center Thursday at 6 p.m.
“We think we can compete well with them,” Wagner said. “We’ve just got to come out strong.”
Hayfield stats: Dani Wagner, 11 kills, 3 blocks, 12 digs, 1 ace serve; Jo Bungum, 10 kills, 20 digs; Syd Tapp, 5 kills, 17 digs; Jessie Foster, 7 kills, 15 set assists; 2 blocks; Maggie Streightiff, 26 set assists, 5 kills, 19 digs; Katelyn Bjornson, 4 kills, 3 blocks; Bhrett Zahnle, 1 ace, 8 digs