Rushford-Peterson Fends Off Chatfield In Thriller
The Rushford-Peterson Trojans were able to hold off the Chatfield Gophers on the road as they put together wins of 25-21, 25-15 and 27-25, while dropping set two 25-18 in what was a thrilling match between Three Rivers Conference foes.
The intensity was high early, but the Trojans were able to capitalize on a couple of Gophers' mistakes in the fourth set to edge out them out. Chatfield held what looked like a commanding 23-21 lead before the Trojans were able to take the next three points to get a 24-23 lead. The Gophers and Trojans then traded points before the Trojans were able to capitalize on an error to get the 27-25 win in the back-and-forth set.
The second set was just as thrilling as Chatfield won 12 straight points to close out the set, and it was on the back of Abby Nosbisch, who was brilliant serving the ball. She earned five aces on the run, and was able to lift the Gophers to the 25-18 win and more importantly a 1-1 tie at the moment.
The Trojans were able to use a big run in set three to close things out and take a 2-1 lead in the third set that was won on great serving and excellent hitting by Lauren Lawtson and Jaelyn Connaughty.
It was a match full of ups and down, but the Trojans were able to scramble and get points when they needed to most to squeak out the victory. Rushford-Peterson got clutch plays from Kjersta Hinz and Kaleah Davis when they needed them most which propelled them to victory.
The Gophers were led by Nosbich at the service line, but it was Paige Erickson and McKenna Daniels who carried the load at the net, doing a great job of playing defense and leading the team on offense.
KFIL Subway Player of the Game (Rushford-Peterson) - Jaelyn Connaughty
KFIL Subway Player of the Game (Chatfield) - Abby Nosbisch
Kingsley Mercantile Game Ball (Rushford-Peterson) - Lauren Lawtson