The Baltic Bulldog volleyball team had two very tough matches on back-to-back nights. They hosted the #1 team in Class A, the Dell Rapids Quarriers on Monday, September 8th. They then hosted the #1 team in Class B, the Chester Flyers, on Tuesday, September 9th. Baltic was able to hang tough in both matches, but did take the loss in both.
Dell Rapids 3, Baltic 1
Baltic opened the first set with a 4-3 advantage. Dell Rapids went on a 5-1 run to take an 8-5 lead which kept them in front the rest of the set. The Quarriers pushed the lead to 22-16 before taking the first set 25-18. The Bulldogs again started the second set with a lead, this time at 3-2. The Bulldogs were able to keep the lead in this set. They led by just two points at 10-8 and 14-12, but then went on a 7-4 run to extend the lead to 21-16. The Bulldogs won the second set 25-19.
Dell Rapids grabbed a 4-3 lead early in the third set. Baltic went on a 5-1 run to go in front 8-5 and kept leading by a score of 12-9. Dell Rapids would score the next four points for a 13-12 lead. Baltic would respond with a 5-0 run to regain the lead 17-13. Dell Rapids pulled within a point 18-17 and then went ahead 21-19 before winning the third set 25-20. Each team held a lead early in the fourth set. Dell Rapids started with a 3-2 lead, but Baltic went in front 7-5. After an 8-8 tie, the Quarriers went on an 8-3 run to go in front 16-11. They pushed the lead to 19-11 which helped them to a 25-19 victory in the fourth set to win the match.
Chester 3, Baltic 2
The Flyers opened the match with a fury. They got out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back. Chester led by scores of 10-2 and 16-3 before taking the first set 25-7. Baltic was able to settle down between the sets. The second set started with a 4-4 tie. The Bulldogs then took the lead 9-7 and slowly built a 17-12 advantage. Chester worked the lead down to 18-16, but they couldn’t get any closer than two points. The Flyers were also within two points at 23-21 before Baltic ended the set with a 25-22 win.
After a slim 5-3 lead by the Flyers to start the third set, Chester again went on a big run. They pushed the lead to 11-4 and then to 16-7. The Flyers cruised through the remainder of the third set to a 25-12 win. Once again the Bulldogs were able to find their groove. Baltic led 7-5 early in the fourth set and worked that lead to 16-10. Chester cut the lead in half to 19-16, but again, Baltic held. The Bulldogs maintained the lead to a 25-21 win.
The Flyers grabbed momentum early to start the fifth set and jumped out to a fast 8-0 lead. Chester continued to lead by eight points, 13-5. They ran the score to a match-point, 14-7. Baltic would not go quietly. The Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run and cut the lead to 14-11. The rally, however, would fall short as Chester scored the next point to win 15-11 and take the match victory.
