The most draining matches can end up being the most satisfying ones, especially if the team you favor is the one with the victory at the end of the evening.
Griggs/Midkota endured a gauntlet of a five-set win over the Benson County Wildcats Thursday night, August 31, in Maddock, with three of the five games going into extra points.
The 27-25, 26-28, 25-20, 24-26 and 15-12 win for the Titans (1-1) was their first of the 2023 fall season after a straight-set loss to M-P-B two nights before.
Vanessa Vollmer, G-M's junior outside hitter, paced the Titans with 16 kills, and was also in double figures in the digs category with 15. Sophomore Kelsey Johnson was the team's other hitter of note in the five-set triumph, hitting for 11 kills herself.
Serving was a big asset for the Titans. Two players, Ryan Johnson and Kennedy Reidman, hit for four aces each. Johnson also led the Titans with 22 digs.
At the setter position, Emma McCullough moved the G-M offense along with 38 assists. Four different players had one block apiece for the Titans.
The team's District 5 debut comes up this Tuesday night in Leal, as Griggs/Midkota takes on the Barnes County North Bison in a varsity/C-squad/junior high slate starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, G-M hosts the HWC Hornets in Binford, and the A-B-C match gets going at 5:30 p.m.
The Titans will also be playing this weekend at the Valley City Optimist Tournament, with pool play in the morning and bracket matches in the afternoon.
Nonregion Volleyball
Griggs/Midkota 3,
Benson Co. 2
at Maddock
G-M 27 26 25 24 15 - 3
BC 25 28 20 26 12 - 2
Griggs/Midkota Individual Stats
Kills: Vanessa Vollmer 16, Kelsey Johnson 11, Kadance Klubben 4, Karsyn Halvorson and Kennedy Reidman 3, Chloe Vincent 1.
Aces: Ryan Johnson and Reidman 4, K. Johnson, Emma McCullough and Vollmer 2.
Assists: McCullough 38.
Blocks: Halvorson, Klubben, McCullough and Reidman 1.
Digs: R. Johnson 22, Vollmer 15, Jersey Gronneberg 14, Reidman 9, K. Johnson 5, Klubben 2, Halvorson 1.