By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The New York Mills Eagles continue to come up just short as they dropped a pair of games last week that were much closer than the final score may indicate.

On Tuesday night the Eagles fell to Pelican Rapids in a close 3-1 non-conference loss, before they fell to Sebeka 3-0 on Thursday in a match that included a pair of sets that ended with a score of 25-23.

This week the Eagles hosted Parkers Prairie on Monday and Pillager on Tuesday.

They will wrap up the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Menahga. NY Mills is currently 2-17 overall and 0-5 in the Park Region Conference. 

Tuesday

After a slow start the NY Mills Eagles nearly forced a fifth and decisive game against the Pelican Rapids Vikings on Tuesday night. The Eagles dropped the opening two sets of the night by scores of 25-19 and 25-17, before coming back with an exciting 25-23 win to avoid the sweep. 

The Eagles met the Vikings’ speed in the fourth game and had a back-and-forth set, before Pelican Rapids pulled away in the end by a score of 25-21 to take the match 3-1. 

“After being down 2-0 we really started playing well. We were trying to force a fifth and deciding set and almost made it there,
but give the Vikings credit as they finished out the fourth set to end the match,” said head coach Steve Dunrud. “We’re still looking for that better start in a match and consistency within our offense. We’ve improved a lot and are a fun team to watch when we’re clicking on all cylinders.”

The Eagles were led offensively by Alise Schornack with 13 kills, while Ellyana Ruther and Aria VanOrsdel finished with nine kills apiece. Alivia Preuss chipped in with eight kills to help the cause for NY Mills.

Talli Schmitz and Julie Seim led the way with 22 and 19 assists respectively, while Aubree Salo finished with 26 digs, Ruther finished with 20 and Julie Seim also reached double figures with 11 digs of her own. Seim also went a perfect 14-14 from the service line. 

ASSISTS- Talli Schmitz 22, Julie Seim 19

KILLS- Alise Schornack 13, Chloe Costin 3, Ellyana Ruther 9, Alivia Preuss 8, Emilia Maunumaki 2, Aria VanOrsdel 9, Channing Frost 1

DIGS- Talli Schmitz 9, Alise Schornack 3, Chloe Costin 5, Julie Seim 11, Ellyana Ruther 20, Alivia Preuss 1, Aubree Salo 26, Aria VanOrsdel 3, Esne Lien 4

BLOCKS- Alise Schornack 1, Chloe Costin 3, Ellyana Ruther 1, Alivia Preuss 5, Emilia Maunumaki 1, Aria VanOrsdel 1

SERVING- Talli Schmitz 9-13, Alise Schornack 15-15 (2 ace), Chloe Costin 16-17 (1 ace), Julie Seim 14-14, Ellyana Ruther 16-17 (1 ace), Aubree Salo 8-9

Thursday

In what has become a theme for the Eagles of late, the team fell behind early, caught up, but came up just a few points short in the end as NY Mills fell to Sebeka by a score of 3-0. While the game ended in a sweep the first and third sets ended by a narrow score of 25-23 each. The second game was all Trojans as they defeated the Eagles 25-14. 

“We’re working on finding the consistency of having an offense that we can rely on throughout the match, not just in spurts,” said head coach Steve Dunrud. “The girls are giving great effort, and playing a very scrappy style of defense, but we’ve given the opponent too many free balls where they are in-system with their offense. It’s hard to control every dig attempt and we do keep many balls from hitting the floor, but are out-of-system too much with our offensive attack. We’re still waiting for that match where we put it all together.”

The Eagles were led offensively by Ellyana Ruther who had eight kills and a team-high 17 digs. Alise Schornack and Alivia Preuss each finished with six kills, while Talli Schmitz and Julie Seim led the way with 12 assists apiece. 

Also chipping in the for the Eagles was Abby Berndt with 12 digs, as well as Schmitz and Schornack who each reached double figures with 10 digs apiece. 

ASSISTS- Talli Schmitz 12, Julie Seim 12, Aria VanOrsdel 2, Addyson Johnson 1, Autumn Salo 2

KILLS- Alise Schornack 6, Chloe Costin 4, Ellyana Ruther 8, Alivia Preuss 6, Emilia Maunumaki 1, Aria VanOrsdel 4, Addyson Johnson 1

DIGS- Talli Schmitz 10, Alise Schornack 10, Chloe Costin 4, Julie Seim 4, Ellyana Ruther 17, Aubree Salo 8, Aria VanOrsdel 2, Addyson Johnsoin 2, Autumn Salo 2, Abby Berndt 12

BLOCKS- Alise Schornack 2, Chloe Costin 2, Ellyana Ruther 1, Alivia Preuss 2, Aria VanOrsdel 2

SERVING- Talli Schmitz 7-7, Alise Schornack 9-9, Chloe Costin 17-18 (4 ace), Julie Seim 9-9, Ellyana Ruther 7-8, Aubree Salo 2-2, Autumn Salo 2-3, Abby Berndt 5-5 (1 ace)