Torri Fee, Emma Hofstad/Photo by Noah Clooten
DEVILS LAKE — The Firebirds continue to take steps in the right direction.
In front of a packed house, preceding the homecoming coronation that followed, the Devils Lake volleyball team played another competitive match with a Fargo school. The stands were packed, and the energy was high.
“The student section is one of the best in the state,” Devils Lake head coach Megan Sylling said. “I’m really happy with how they support the girls, and they’re there for the girls. And our girls really pushed hard tonight. Tired from Tuesday still, but we’re just gonna continue to work.”
Two days after taking Fargo South to a fifth set — a match in which Torri Fee reached 1,000 career digs — the Firebirds (1-11, 0-7) came up short in a 3-1 battle with Fargo North (8-7, 4-3) on Thursday.
“I’m really happy with how the girls are playing,” Sylling said. “They’re really working through a lot of tough volleys, and they’re finding ways to earn points. Now we just need to continue to clean it up.”
Set 1: Fargo North 25, Devils Lake 21 (1-0 Spartans)
A valiant comeback effort late in the first set wasn’t quite enough for Devils Lake.
Trailing early, the Firebirds won four straight to go up 6-4, then lost five in a row to go down 9-6.
But they continued to claw their way back in. A deep kill by Emma Hofstad and an ace got Devils Lake within one. A kill by Jolie Martinson tied it at 11-11.
Fargo North went on another 5-0 run to reclaim a seemingly comfortable lead. But back came the Firebirds, sparked by Martinson again with a crafty shot in shallow territory. Martinson’s 10 kills on the night tied for the team lead with Hofstad.
“She really wanted to push hard today, and she did,” Sylling said. “She found the areas that were open. She continued to find the holes, and really had success tonight in a lot of different areas.”
After cutting the deficit to 17-14, the Firebirds won five straight of their own. An error allowed Devils Lake to tie it up, and Claire Heilman rushed in and slammed a kill to put the Firebirds ahead 19-17. Fargo North took a timeout.
Whatever the Spartans said in their brief huddle, it worked in getting the Firebirds off balance. Errors helped them snatch back the lead. Devils Lake briefly tied it at 20-20 after illegal contact was called on the Spartans — on a shot Kinley Johnson appeared to hit out — but Fargo North comfortably took five of the final six points to earn the final edge.
Set 2: Devils Lake 27, Fargo North 25 (1-1)
The Firebirds achieved what eluded them for much of the early part of the season: finding a way to win a close set.
After an early 4-1 Devils Lake lead became 5-5, much of the second set was neck-and-neck. At 7-7, Fargo North went on a 6-0 run with some sloppiness from the Firebirds. But Devils Lake responded with a 6-1 stretch, coming within a 14-13 margin.
Long rallies continued to send the teams back and forth with each other. Fargo North maintained a slight lead until it had a 22-19 advantage — and the Firebirds took three points in a row. An error by the Spartans made it 22-22, prompting a timeout.
Right out of the break, it looked like it might be the first set all over again. Fargo North won the first two points, giving it a double set point.
Enter Sara Kraft. The sophomore had a block and a kill to tie it up.
“She’s really finding her blocks,” Sylling said. “She’s continuing to stay aggressive at the net, and just continuing to push herself to new heights.”
Martinson continued her strong match with a kill that gave Devils Lake a 25-24 lead.
As the Spartans took another timeout, the Firebirds’ fans roared. They lost their first set point, leaving one up for an easy Fargo North kill. They wasted little time taking care of it from there, though, as they went back up 26-25 and then won the set with another kill by Martinson.
It was all tied up.
Set 3: Fargo North 25, Devils Lake 18 (2-1 Spartans)
Falling into a 5-0 hole ultimately doomed the Firebirds in the third set.
They fought back, winning four straight to make it a one-point set. They even briefly held leads of 9-8 and 10-9, with Kraft giving them another much-needed kill for the latter.
Devils Lake stayed within striking distance until Fargo North went on a 5-0 run to go up 23-16. The teams traded service errors, and the Spartans wrapped it up fairly handily.
Set 4: Fargo North 25, Devils Lake 15 (3-1 Spartans)
Once again, the Firebirds couldn’t quite overcome an early hole.
They trailed 4-0, and once again, managed to get it back to 5-4. Another one of Fargo North’s pesky 5-0 runs put Devils Lake in a 14-7 rut; the Spartans ultimately overmatched the Firebirds with the speed of their hits.
Down the stretch of the set, Martinson found another deceptive angle, and Kraft came up with both a kill and a block. But Fargo North proved stronger in the end, winning the set 25-15 and the match 3-1.
Still, with every match, the Firebirds are getting a clearer picture of where they’ve improved and where they can still get better. They have a quicker turnaround now, with a Monday home match against Grand Forks Central after the homecoming festivities over the weekend.
“It’s just going to come down to cleaning up that small stuff and continuing to gain confidence,” Sylling said. “Because it’s really finding that confidence and continuing to push past some of those bigger deficits.”
