Kinley Johnson (Photo by Cameron Carlson)
By Mojo Hill
Region wins haven’t been easy to come by for Devils Lake this season. The Firebirds lost three five-setters in region play before finally getting over the hump.
They lost their first five region matches of the season, worth six points in the standings. That stretch included a sweep at the hands of No. 1 Thompson in the Devils Lake Sports Center.
But after Devils Lake got its first region win last Monday at home, it went on the road to stun the No. 1 Tommies (20-5, 6-4) this Monday. The Firebirds (16-12-1, 2-6) erased a 2-0 match deficit to take down Thompson 3-2, with set scores of 21-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-20 and 15-12.
“Tonight we battled, we were down 2-0 and we never gave up,” Devils Lake head coach Bridget Hanlan said. “Everyone on the team contributed. The team stayed positive and never got frustrated or showed defeat.”
While Devils Lake lost the opening two sets, it hung around for most of the first and about half of the second. The Firebirds trailed 4-0 out of the gates but managed to tie the first set at 8-8. The teams went back and forth, with Kinley Johnson leading Devils Lake early on while Andie Schwab provided a force for Thompson.
The Firebirds led in the set as late as 16-15.
A 6-0 run fueled the Tommies to an opening-set victory. Devils Lake stayed competitive early in the second set, tied at 7-7 and within a 15-12 margin after three straight kills by Emma Hofstad. But Thompson ran away with it again, this time with a 7-0 run.
After a 25-17 win to go up 2-0, it looked like a typical night for the Tommies.
But Devils Lake grinded its way through an even third set to keep the match alive. Neither team ever led the third set by more than three points. Hofstad and Johnson continued to lead the Firebirds’ attack, with Sara Kraft playing a pesky game in the middle and players like Mia Elsperger and Chassidy Rodacker adding contributions from the outside.
With Devils Lake up 24-21, Thompson fought off back-to-back set points with kills by Vivien Majkrzak. Kraft slammed one down for the Firebirds to hold onto the 25-23 win.
“Our ups and downs are going from 10-point threads to just a-couple-point runs by the other team, and that is keeping us in the game,” Hanlan said. “We will work to continue to push through long rallies and be disciplined on defense.”
An early 5-0 run gave Devils Lake quick control of the fourth set. Hofstad and Elsperger each had a pair of kills in that span. The Firebirds had a lead as large as 13-5.
Thompson won nine of the next 10 points to even it at 14-14. But Devils Lake took the next three, with kills from Hofstad and Elsperger and an ace by Riley Remmick. Thompson closed the gap as tight as one point, but Devils Lake led the rest of the way. Johnson and Hofstad had back-to-back kills to finish a 25-20 win — sending it to a tiebreaking fifth set.
Kills by Elsperger and April Miller helped the Firebirds take an early 4-2 lead in the final showdown. Majkrzak had two blocks in a row to help briefly steer Thompson back ahead.
The teams swung back and forth, with the Tommies leading as late as 10-9. With a kill by Johnson, they were tied at 11-11.
Kraft tipped a kill from the middle to ignite a crucial 3-0 run for Devils Lake. Thompson kept a long rally alive with multiple impressive digs, but the rally ended in an error to make it 14-11 Firebirds. The Tommies held a timeout.
Huebner had a kill to fend off one match point for Thompson. But the match fittingly ended in a kill by Johnson, eliciting cheers from the Devils Lake bench and the faithful fans who made the trip.
Johnson led the Firebirds with 14 kills on the night. Hofstad was right behind her with 13. Remmick did the majority of the setting with 24 assists, while Brynlee Wolf added 12 assists.
Julia McIvor kept things locked down in the back with a team-high 33 digs. Johnson also tallied 20 digs in an all-around performance.
McIvor, Hofstad and Remmick combined for 10 aces to lead the Firebirds’ serving.
Unofficially, Thompson got 15 kills from Schwab and 11 from Huebner. The Tommies, in their first year up from Class B, have been ranked No. 1 all year as of Monday. But they lost 3-0 to Grafton earlier this season, and have now lost to Carrington and Devils Lake.
Thompson sits in third place in the region. Carrington (26-4, 9-0) leads the way, with May-Port-C-G (22-5-1, 3-1) in second. Devils Lake is in sixth place out of seven teams, ahead of only Hillsboro/Central Valley (7-16, 1-8).
The Firebirds still have four region points on the table, meaning they could finish with a region record as high as .500. They travel to play May-Port-C-G in a two-point match this Thursday. They’ll close out the season by hosting Carrington and Harvey/Wells County in one-point matches on Oct. 30 and Nov. 3, respectively.
