Volleyball: Park Rapids peaked at season’s end – Park Rapids Enterprise

PARK RAPIDS – It took some time for the Park Rapids volleyball team to click as a unit.

With the entire team taking on new roles, the Panthers opened the season with a 2-16 record. Park Rapids played its best volleyball down the stretch, finishing the regular season with a 4-5 mark for a 6-22 overall record.

“Overall, I felt the season was a success despite the win-loss record,” said Park Rapids head coach Alicia Dennis. “We faced a tough schedule in a strong conference, and given the circumstances, the team’s growth and effort were significant.”

Having to replace five starters from last season while having three regulars see varsity minutes for the first time resulted in six losses to open the season. After dropping a five-setter to Nevis (25-23, 25-23, 25-27, 22-25, 15-10), the Panthers were swept by Park Christian (25-13, 25-22, 25-9), Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton (25-17, 25-18, 25-7), Wadena-Deer Creek (25-19, 25-10, 25-21) and Breckenridge (25-23, 25-14, 25-11).

After a loss to Lake Park-Audubon (25-16, 16-25, 3-1) to open the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley Invitational, Park Rapids defeated Warroad (25-14, 25-21) before dropping matches to Blackduck (25-22, 25-21), Sacred Heart (25-13, 25-13) and Menahga (22-25, 25-20, 15-9) for a 1-4 record in the tournament.

Losses to Sebeka (25-19, 25-18, 22-25, 32-30) and Pelican Rapids (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18) followed before the Panthers swept Menahga (25-20, 25-19, 25-15). A five-match losing streak followed, beginning with losses to Frazee (25-23, 25-14, 25-15), Hawley (25-15, 25-18, 25-23) and Thief River Falls (19-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-21).

At the Perham Invitational, the Panthers opened with losses to Henning (25-20, 26-24) and Kittson County Central (25-13, 25-12) before closing with wins over Staples-Motley (25-19, 17-25, 15-8) and Underwood (25-22, 25-11).

After another win over Staples-Motley (23-25, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17, 15-13), the Panthers dropped matches to Perham (25-17, 25-19, 25-22) and Barnesville (25-18, 25-12, 25-22) before opening the Fergus Falls Blocktoberfest Invitational with a loss to Fergus Falls (25-13, 25-21). Park Rapids followed a win over Lake of the Woods (25-8, 25-11) with losses to Detroit Lakes (22-25, 25-16, 18-16) and Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (25-14, 25-19) to close out that tournament and the regular season.

Park Rapids tied Pelican Rapids and Staples-Motley for last place in the HOL standings at 1-7. Hawley won the conference title with an 8-0 record with D-G-F (7-1), Perham (6-2), Frazee (4-4), Barnesville (4-4) and Breckenridge (4-4) following. Hawley defeated W-DC for the section title and went on to repeat as the state Class AA champions.

Going 2-8 against Section 8AA teams gave Park Rapids the No. 11 seed for the section tournament. No. 6 Wadena-Deer Creek ended the Panthers season with a sweep (25-13, 25-9, 25-21) in the first round.

Vance Carlson / Enterprise

In 27 matches (stats from the Menahga match at the W-H-A Invitational were not available), the Panthers served 143 aces with 139 service errors and had 726 kills with 514 attack errors while making 183 errors on serve receive. The opposition had 818 kills with 403 hitting mistakes and 182 service aces with 127 service errors while making 143 errors on serve receive.

Leading the Panthers this season were seniors Maggie Huber, Macey Jalbert, Natalie Weiss and Allie Michaelson; juniors Anna Rickbeil and Adrienne Cook; sophomore Olivia Budzien; and freshmen Ryann Hagen and Mckenzie Brady-Baso.

Huber led the team with 315 set assists and was third with 228 digs and 20 blocks. Huber put 294 of 301 serves in play with 22 aces and had 133 kills in 27 matches.

Jalbert posted a team high in kills with 180, tied for second with 32 ace serves, and was second with 232 digs and 160 set assists while adding 22 blocks. Jalbert put 206 of 231 serves in play in 27 matches.

Michaelson was the team leader with 26 blocks while finishing second with 155 kills. Michaelson put 72 of 80 serves in play with 10 aces and had 79 digs in 27 matches.

In 27 matches, Weiss contributed 58 kills, 17 ace serves and 124 digs while putting 170 of 180 serves in play.

Rickbeil, who was the starting libero last season, shared the team lead with 82 ace serves while putting 184 of 209 serves in play. Rickbeil also had 53 kills and 169 digs in 27 matches.

Cook also played in all 27 matches and went 196 for 203 in serves with 18 aces while chipping in 85 kills and 145 digs.

Contributed / Caulfield Studio

Hagen led the Panthers with 239 digs and put 161 of 186 serves in play in 27 matches. Brady-Baso was second with 23 blocks and had 32 kills and 26 digs in 25 matches. Budzien pounded down 21 kills and had 21 blocks in 22 matches.

Sophomores Maddison Shepherd (three matches); freshmen Ella Carroll (four matches), Kenzie Strasburg (seven matches) and Clara Kimball (seven matches); and eighth grader Harper Fogarty (one match) also saw some varsity time.

Huber was named to the all-conference team while Jalbert received all-conference honorable mention honors. Huber, Jalbert and Michaelson received all-state academic honors as the team received an all-state Gold Award. Team awards went to Huber (Panther of the Year), Jalbert (Iron Heart Award), Weiss (Paragon Award), Cook (Most Valuable Teammate), Michaelson (Cornerstone Award) and Hagen (Rising Star Award).

The Panthers will look to replace the four seniors in hopes of improving in the conference and section standings next season.

“With nearly every player stepping into a new role or varsity position for the first time, the improvement from the start of the season to the end was clear,” said Dennis. “The season was also defined by a group of seniors who understood the expectations, showed up ready to work, held themselves accountable, and helped spark a meaningful culture shift. I am grateful for their leadership and the foundation they helped build. This is a young team with talent and grit, and many players are beginning to realize they want more and are motivated for next season.”