By Brenda Erdahl
Sports editor
The No. 8 seeded Maple Lake volleyball team advanced to round two of the Section 5AA tournament by defeating No. 9 seed Kimball on Friday, Oct. 27 at home.
Round two took place Tuesday, Oct. 31 in Annandale against the No. 1 seeded Cardinals. Results were not available at press time.
The Irish and the Cubs played in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Maple Lake gym where both sides were well represented.
Maple Lake edged the Cubs in that first game, winning 25-23. The home team dropped the next game 23-25, then won the next two (25-14 and 25-19) to win the match 3-1.
Avery Lee went 15 for 16 serving for the Irish with one ace, 11 kills, 24 assists, 15 digs and one block. Alex Kiebel was 13 for 14 serving with one ace, 21 kills, 12 assists, 14 digs and three blocks; Sydney Breimon was 10 for 12 serving with three aces, three kills, 16 digs and two blocks; Danica Hageman was 10 for 12 serving with four kills and eight digs; Ava Knutson was 14 for 16 serving with one ace and four digs; Addison Kramer had three kills and four digs; Abby Linder had one kill, 14 digs and four blocks and Eliana Fuller was 20 for 20 serving with four assists and 18 digs.
The Irish served 91 percent as a team with five aces and 43 digs.
The Irish are 16-12 overall. Annandale’s record is 19-8. The winner of Tuesday night’s match will advance to the Thursday, Nov. 2 match at St. Michael/Albertville High School where they will face either Maranatha Christian Academy (No. 5 seed) or Legacy Christian Academy (No. 4 seed).