Volleyball: Brainerd powers past Tech in opener – Brainerd Dispatch

BRAINERD – From the start, the Brainerd Warriors dominated on Tuesday, August 30th.

In their first action of the season, the Warriors posted a 3-0 Central Lakes Conference victory over the St. Cloud Tech Tigers at Brainerd High School.

Senior outside hitter Kate Stadum led the way with 10 kills, three aces and two digs.

“It was just clicking in the heats, so I knew it was going to be good,” she said.

What impressed Warriors head coach Rick Kuhlwein was how his sophomores played.

“It was good to get two of those sophomores in because they didn’t see the floor and they were shaking in their boots out there,” he said. “It was fun to see them there.”

Sophomore hitter Carly Dunham contributed five ace serves, three kills and one block.

“I was very impressed with how Carly Dunham served tonight,” Kuhlwein said. “Normally she gets like 65% in jumping. I let her out and I think she missed one or two all night.”

Junior setter Aden Yost and senior setter Annika Aho were split in three rounds each. Yost had 15 assists and Aho 10.

“I’ve definitely improved,” Yost said. “I played last year and I was always nervous and now I’m used to it.”

Brainerd jumped out to a 5-0 lead in set one before Tech called a timeout.

The Tigers battled back to make it 12-10 before another 5-0 Warriors run made it 17-10 and Tech called a second timeout.

The Warriors closed it out with an Aho serve to secure a 25-15 victory.

“We were definitely playing with a lot of energy,” Stadum said. “The main thing this year is just to keep the energy up every game, whether we win or lose.”

The Warriors raced out to a 7-1 lead after a Stadam kill forced Tech to call a timeout in the second set.

Brainerd beat St. Two 25-14. Stadum’s kill closed out the set and gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

The Tigers fought back in the third set to take a 12-7 lead before Ianna Picard’s kill sparked the Warriors.

Picard finished with a team-leading four blocks along with five kills and an ace serve.

Another Stadium kill gave the Warriors their first lead of three, 17-16. The Warriors took a 21-18 advantage, prompting Tech to call a timeout.

Dunham hit two aces to make it 24-19, and the Warriors sealed match point with a Stadum kill to win the third, 25-20.

“Kate had a great match,” Kuehlwein said. “I liked the way we blocked and because we blocked, we put them on the ball a lot. I think we put them out of order a lot on our serves.

The Warriors travel to Sartell on Thursday, Sept. 1 for a conference and Class 8-4A matchup.

“We handle the ball and run at different speeds,” Kuhlwein said. “We have a different lineup with Aden Yost, maybe four rotations instead of three.”

KeyA quick start will help Brainerd sweep Tech
ConferenceSilver 1-0, SCT 0-1
in generalSilver 1-0, SCT 0-1
next to: Brainerd at Sartell 7 pm Thursday, September 1.

CONRAD ENGSTROM can be reached at 218-855-5861 or conrad.engstrom@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/the_rad34.