Volleyball

      The Aitkin Gobblers bounced back from a Tuesday loss with a quick three-set win at Hinckley-Finlayson Thursday to up their record to 5-4 on the season. Molly Franke blasted 7 kills to lead Aitkin while Samantha Edwards added 6, Taya Hawkins had 5 and Eva Kalis had 4. Edwards added 3 aces and Kate Palm, Gabi Price and Grace Hoppe each had 2. Palm had 13 assists and Annika Kalis and Eva Kalis each had 2 blocks.

Gobblers    25 25 25

Jaguars      19  18  14

      The Aitkin Gobbler JV volleyball team scored a straight sets win on the road at Hinckley-Finlayson Thursday night. Adalyn Samuelson had 3 kills to lead Aitkin while Grace Hoppe and Leah Palm each had 2. Kate Boyd had 6 assists while Aubrey Edwards had 5 aces and Hoppe added 4.

Aitkin    25 25

H-F          6 13

     The Gobbler C-Squad also swept the Jaguars. Coach Shelby Coombs, "We had 31 aces on the night. It was a great group effort again; we kept the energy at a high level throughout the match."

Gobblers 25 25 25 25

Jaguars   11   22 13    8

JH Gobblers host the Jaguars

       Coach Lena Broeckel after the matches, "We played Hinckley-Finlayson, they had one combined team, so they played our 7th grade first and then played our 8th grade. They beat our 7th grade in three sets. Our 8th grade swept the Jaguars in three straight. Highlights for the 8th grade included Rehse Rikala serving 10 in a row and 8 of the serves were aces. She is the first to hit the 10-point club. The girls as a whole had consistent serving which led us to the win. Rikala, Carlie Parker, Abigail Kalis and Zoey Baierl all had a number of great kills. Back row kills came from our libero's Isabelle Statz and Jannah Alarab." The Gobblers host Pillager Monday.

       The Aitkin Gobblers and the Braham Bombers are two very close and competitive volleyball teams and that showed in the Bombers 3-1 win Tuesday at Aitkin. The Gobblers won the first game, and the visitors won the last three tight sets. Braham moves to 8-2 while the Gobblers are back even at 4-4.

Set One

This set was 6-6 when Gabi Pirce had a n ace, Annika Kalis had a winner and Price followed with two more aces to make it 10-6. Braham close to 10-9 but Annika recorded a kill and Sam Edwards had an ace for a 12-9 lead. Later in the set it was 21-18 Aitkin when Kacie Kaiser scored on a cross-court winner and the Gobblers went on to the win.

Set Two

Aitkin looked to take the next set as well and led 17-10 after an ace by Taya Hawkins but the Bombers made an 8-0 run to take an 18-17 lead. Braham took over the set and made it 1-1.

Set Three

This set was all Braham for most of the set and after a 1-1 tie early they led all the way to 20-19 before Price scored an ace to tie it. Braham scored five of the next six points to take a 2-1 set lead.

Set Four

 The final set was back and forth the Gobblers last lead at 14-10 after a Molly Franke kill and a winner from Edwards. It was 21-19 Bombers and Grace Hoppe scored a couple of aces to keep Aitkin close, but the Bombers were able to get out of town with the set and the win.

    Gobbler stats for the game had Sam Edwards with 11 kills and 7 each for Annika Kalis and Grace Hoppe. Gabi Price had 14 assists while Kate Palm had 10, and Price had 4 aces. Eva Kalis had 3 blocks and Kacie Kaiser, Hoppe and Molly Franke each had 2. Coach Wade Zubke after the match, "If you wanted to see good volleyball you definitely got it tonight. Our athletes weren't able to come away with the win, but we never quit. I couldn't be prouder of my team. We will come back stronger."

Braham       23 25 25 25

Aitkin            25 22 21  20

        The Gobbler JV scored a two-set victory over the Bombers. Macey Ryan had 7 kills to lead Aitkin while Adalyn Samuelson had 4 and Aubrey Edwards, Paityn Hawkins and Leah Palm each had 3 kills. Kate Boyd and Hawkins each had 6 assists and Natalie Shereck, Boyd, Ryan and Hawkins each had 1 ace.

Bombers     20 22

Gobblers     25 25

       The C-Squad also posted a win playing four games. Coach Shelby Coombs, "Ava Peterson-Johnson and Elsie Kyllonen made the seven-point club with some amazing service pressure. Natalie Wenzel was all over the court with amazing coverage."

Bombers    17  13  21    7

Gobblers   25 25 25 25

     If you were at the Gobbler volleyball win Thursday night you saw a young lady who got herself and her teammates some kind of fired up. Samantha Edwards lit up the crowd and the team with 14 kills, many of them rippers especially in the fourth and fifth sets. Where does that fire come from, "It comes from all the energy my teammates give off to everyone around them." Okay, but what are you thinking when you're driving a shot home, "I'm just thinking about staying aggressive and trusting my swing. Once I get a couple of kills, I get more confident and just want to keep attacking and helping my team. One of my goals and our team goal is to have a winning record this season and also just to be a competitive team."

        The Aitkin Gobblers took part in the Barb Neprud volleyball classic in C-I Saturday and finished the day losing to Swanville in the Consolation final. They finished 2-2 on the day. Here's a look at how things transpired.

Match One

MLWR   25 25 15

Aitkin    21  27   9

       Annika Kalis led the way for Aitkin with 6 kills while Eva Kalis had 4 kills and 3 aces. Samantha Edwards had 4 kills, Taya Hawkins had 3 kills and Kate Palm added 5 assists.

Match Two

Ogilvie    16 29  6

Aitkin      25 27 15

      Molly Franke was the leader in this match with 5 kills and 6 aces. Annika had 4 kills, Eva and Taya each had 3 kills, Kate had 2 kills and 12 assists and Samantha had 2 kills.

Match Three

Aitkin        25 25

Pine City  19  12

      Annika, Eva, Taya and Samantha each led the way with 2 kills. Kate had 7 assists, Taya had 4 aces and Gabi Price had 3 aces.

      Swanville won the final in two straight sets over the Gobblers. Molly, Eva and Taya each had 2 kills. Kate had 6 assists.

Swanville  25 25

Aitkin         22 22

       The Aitkin Gobblers hosted the Pine City Dragons Thursday night in their home opener and in front of a raucous crowd the host team picked up their second straight win of the season. It took five sets after the Gobblers won the first two and the Dragons won the next two. The Gobblers won the "race to 15" to capture the match.

Set One-Aitkin got out to a lead early on and never trailed in the opening set. It was 8-4 after a block by Eva Kalis and then 10-5 after a Samantha Edwards kill. Gabi Price with an ace made it 13-7 and later in the set Charlotte Lundgren made it 18-9 with an ace of her own. Aitkin closed out the set with the final four points.

Set Two-The Dragons took the early lead in this set, and it was 6-4 when Taya Hawkins supplied a winner and Kacie Kaiser scored off a block to tie it at 6-6. It was still 16-11 Dragons when a kill by Molly Franke and an ace by Edwards got it to 16-13. Aitkin finally caught up and took a 21-18 lead on a kill by Gabi Price. The Dragons tied it at 22-22 but two winners by Edwards made it 24-22 and they went on to take the set. 

Set Three-It appeared the Gobblers would sweep the match in three straight, but Pine City had other ideas. They took a 20-16 lead before another kill by Edwards and three points in a row off the serves of Lundgren. That was the last points of the set for Aitkin as the Dragons made it a 2-1 match.

Set Four-The Dragons had some momentum going into the set but a kill by Edwards tied it at 10-10. Aitkin led 19-17 after a Franke winner and again at 22-20 on an Edwards winner and then at 23-22 on a shot down the line by Edwards. Pine City wouldn't quit though and they finished off the set to even things at two sets apiece. 

Set Five-The final set was back and forth and was tied at 6-6 before a block by Eva Kalis made it 7-6. It was all Gobblers from that point with Edwards producing two more kills and Aitkin went on to win the set and the match. Coach Wade Zubke after the win, "It was good to get a win tonight. We started strong but Pine City woke up in sets three and four. Aitkin woke up in set five with some stellar play and great energy from Samantha Edwards to lead the team to the win." Edwards had a great game with 14 kills and she had help as Eva Kalis and Molly Franke each had 4 and Taya Hawkins and Annika Kalis each added 3 kills. Kate Palm had 13 assists, Eva Kalis had 5 blocks and Edwards added 4 ace serves.

Dragons    12 23 25 25 10

Gobblers  25 25 20 23 15

      The Gobbler JV won their match in three sets. Grace Hoppe had 4 kills and 4 aces, Adalyn Samuelson added 4 kills, Kenzie Klee had 4 aces and Kate Boyd had 5 assists. Coach Kristen Ratz, "We had some first home game jitters, but the players settled in nicely. Grace Hoppe served 12 straight points in the deciding set."

Dragons     26   9  5

Gobblers    24 25 15

     The Gobbler C-Squad also picked up a win, defeating Pine City in five sets. Coach Shelby Coombs, "It was an overall win. They had two squads; it took all of us to pull out the win."

Dragons     15 25 15 13 13

Gobblers   25 19 11 25 25

      The Gobbler JH teams both won on the road at Pine City. The 7th grade won 25-12, 25-13, 25-13, 25-15 and 25-19. The 8th grade won in five 25-17, 25-16, 24-26, 25-7 and 23-25.

      The Aitkin Gobblers picked up their first win of the season with a 3-0 sweep on the road Tuesday at Duluth Denfeld. Molly Franke led the way with 8 kills while Samantha Edwards and Taya Hawkins each had 6 kills. Kate Palm had 10 assists while Gabi Price added 6. Price and Charlotte Lundgren each had 3 ace serves in the win. Aitkin evens their record at 1-1 with the victory. Coach Wade Zubke after the win, "It was a great team effort with contributions from every player. I was pleased with our service pressure and serve receive was great as well. Molly Franke had a standout game in the front row and our defense improved as well. Fun team to watch and coach."

Aitkin     25 25 25

Denfeld 21  18  18

      The Gobbler JV picked up their 2nd straight win. Coach Kristen Ratz, "Aubrey Edwards started the match off with 12 serves in a row. She helped lead the team to the win with some amazing digs." Grace Hoppe had 5 kills to lead Aitkin while Macey Ryan had 3, Adalyn Samuelson, Leah Palm and Natalie Shereck each had 2. Samuelson added 4 blocks.

Aitkin     25 25

Denfeld   7 14

      The Gobbler C-Squad also beat the Hunters in three straight. Coach Shelby Coombs, "we had three girls join the 7-point club, Maharlika Burgos, Britton Lehrer and Payton Anakkala."

Aitkin    25 25

Denfeld  7 14