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Braves battle back to defeat Wildcats

Leah Schwartz lunged to make a dig during Menahga's win over Laporte Tuesday night. Vance Carlson / Enterprise

Aimee Lake and Madi Marjamaa combined to serve five aces down the stretch in the final two sets to rally the Menahga volleyball team to a win over Laporte Tuesday night at Menahga.

The Braves overcame deficits of 15-8 in Set 3 and 23-18 in Set 4 for a 25-14, 25-27, 25-22, 26-24 victory.

Menahga took control in Set 1 as a kill by Olivia Yliniemi, an ace serve by Cierra Ahlf and two kills by Leah Schwartz broke open a 6-6 tie and produced an 18-11 advantage. Kills by Ahlf and Tara Hendrickson and a winning tip by Marjamaa closed out the set.

Laporte jumped out to a 6-1 lead in Set 2 before three kills by Yliniemi, two kills by Schwartz, a kill by Annie Lake and two tips by Marjamaa gave the Braves a 13-10 advantage. Kills by Jessica Pietila and Schwartz and two ace serves by Marjamaa made it 18-14 before the Wildcats rallied to take a 24-21 lead. A dig by Aimee Lake and a kill by Yliniemi tied the set at 24-24 before Laporte evened the match.

A kill and block by Hendrickson and a kill and ace serve by Schwartz gave Menahga a 6-5 edge in Set 3 before the Wildcats went on a 10-2 run to claim a 15-8 advantage. Laporte led 18-11 before Aimee Lake served two aces and recorded a kill and Schwartz had two kills to give the Braves a 20-19 lead. The Wildcats took a 22-21 lead before a kill by Yliniemi and two blocks by Hendrickson helped Menahga close out the set with a 4-0 run.

Despite an ace serve by Aimee Lake and two kills by Schwartz, the Braves trailed 8-5 in Set 4 before kills by Yliniemi, Ahlf, Hendrickson and Schwartz tied the set at 16-16. Aimee Lake and Schwartz served aces during that run. The Wildcats claimed a 23-18 advantage before Marjamaa's tip and two ace serves and a kill by Hendrickson tied it at 23-23. A kill by Schwartz and ace serve by Aimee Lake closed out the match.

Schwartz had 16 kills and 15 digs, Yliniemi had eight kills and Marjamaa had four kills, four ace serves, 11 digs and 28 set assists to lead the Braves. Aimee Lake served five aces and led the team with 26 digs while Annie Lake tallied 11 digs as Menahga improved to 4-5 on the season.

"Our girls showed a lot of heart," said Menahga head coach Isaiah Hahn. "It was great to get the win against a very scrappy and great hitting Laporte team. They stuck right with us and their ability to hit made it very challenging for our back row and our ball control. I thought our ball control was not our best of the season, but our team stuck together found a way to get a very gritty win."

Menahga statistics

Kills: Schwartz 16, Yliniemi 8, Marjamaa 4, Ahlf 3, Hendrickson 3, Ai. Lake 1, An. Lake 1, Pietila 1.

Service aces: Ai. Lake 5, Marjamaa 4, Schwartz 2, Ahlf 1.

Set assists: Marjamaa 28, An. Lake 2, Schwartz 1.

Blocks: Hendrickson 3, Marjama 1.

Digs: Ai. Lake 26, Schwartz 15, Marjamaa 11, An. Lake 11, Ahlf 6, Yliniemi 4, Pietila 1, Hendrickson 1.

Vikings defeat Braves

Jessica Weinrich and Adriana Torres had eight kills each and combined for five blocks in leading Pelican Rapids to a 25-21, 25-13, 25-16 win over the Braves Monday night at Pelican Rapids.

Grace Johnson added six kills and Sarah Thompson had 30 set assists as the Vikings improved to 8-1 on the season.

Schwartz's nine kills and 13 digs, Yliniemi's four kills, Marjamaa's 16 set assists, Aimee Lake's 18 digs, Ahlf's 10 digs, and Annie Lake's two ace serves and four kills led the Braves.

Menahga statistics

Kills: Schwartz 9, Yliniemi 4, An. Lake 4, Marjamaa 2, Ahlf 2, Hendrickson 2.

Service aces: An. Lake 2.

Set assists: Marjamaa 16, Ai. Lake 1.

Digs: Ai. Lake 18, Schwartz 13, Ahlf 10, An.Lake 7, Marjama 5, Yliniemi 1, Hendrickson 1.

Braves to 1-2 at tournament

The Braves went 1-2 at the Pequot Lakes tournament on Sept. 9 with a loss to Onamia (25-18, 25-17), a win over Pine River-Backus (25-21, 24-26) and a loss to Parkers Prairie (26-28, 25-19, 15-8).

Henning defeats Braves

Henning remained undefeated on the season after opening the Park Region Conference schedule with a 25-23, 25-14, 31-29 win over Menahga on Sept. 7.

Schwartz's eight kills, Marjamaa's 18 set assists, Aimee Lake's 18 digs, and two service aces apiece by Yliniemi and Ahlf led the Braves.

The Hornets improved to 4-0 on the season.

Menahga statistics

Kills: Schwartz 8, Hendrickson 4, Yliniemi 3, An. Lake 3, Marjamaa 2, Pietila 1.

Service aces: Yliniemi 2, Ahlf 2, Schwartz 1, Marjamaa 1, Ai. Lake 1.

Set assists: Marjamaa 18, Schwartz 1, Ai. Lake 1, An. Lake 1.

Blocks: Yliniemi 1, An. Lake 1.

Digs: Ai. Lake 18, Schwartz 5, Marjamaa 4, An. Lake 4, Ahlf 3, Pietila 2.