Emma Fahning 28 digs
(photos by Jim Lindquist)
For the past several weeks the Tigers have played competitive volleyball only to fade in the closing moments of games.
But in Thursday night's exciting 3-1 Missota Conference win over Northfield at Tiger Gym, the Tigers found their finishing legs in a 25-21, 25-23, 13-25, 25-21 victory.
The conference win was the first in five tries for Farmington who raised its season mark to 7-17. Northfield is 5-17 overall and an identical 1-4 in conference play.
"The biggest difference was our execution in the last five points of every game," coach Mike Woody said. "We also started to believe we not only belonged but that we could win...It was fun to see all of the hard work is finally paying off. It was a total team effort."
Laura Steege had a big night on offense, finishing with a team-high 16 kills, five more than teammate Bekah Lippert. Emily Nelson added eight kills for the winners.
Mia Johnston did a good job of getting the ball to her front line, totaling half (18) of the team's 36 assists. Andrea Smith added seven and RuthAnne Schmitt five.
Emma Fahning and Adrienne Jolicoeur paced the defense with 28 and 24 digs respectively. Rachel Eckert chipped in with 11 and Johnston had 10. Lippert had her second straight stellar night at the net, registering a game-high 13 blocks.
The Tigers will be looking to add to their win total next week when they close out their regular season with a pair of Missota Conference matches, Tuesday at Chaska and Thursday at home against New Prague. Section 1AAA post-season play begins the following week.
