FDLTCC Wins First Match of the Season

Aug 30

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

The FDLTCC
Thunder Volleyball team opened up their inaugural volleyball season with a win Saturday at home as they downed Vermillion Community College. The Thunder beat the Ironwomen 3 games to 1 at the Lester Jack Briggs Cultural Center Gymnasium on the FLDTCC campus.

Both teams waged a tough battle in their four game matches. The Thunder won the first two games 25-15 and 25-14 before the Ironwomen rallied to win the third game 25-14. The Thunder would rebound and win the match with a 25-17 victory in the fourth game to get the first win in school history.

“I was very pleased with the way that we passed the ball,” head coach Mike Patenaude would tell Northland Sports Online. “We have struggled with that during practice. We were making progress, but I wasn’t sure how we would react in a game situation,” Patenaude would add. “The girls really stepped it up and performed at a very high level.”

Kayla Deadrick of Esko had 11 kills and Carlton’s Karissa Gustafson had 8 blocks to lead those two respective categories. Jessie Minotte ran the offense by picking up 23 set assists.

Offensively, Patenaude said “I’ll still be looking for more of an attack on the offensive side of the ball, but we did what we needed to do to get the job done.” “It is always nice to get that first win out of the way,” Patenaude also commented on Sunday night. “The ladies just went out and did what they are supposed to do and the rest took care of itself.”

“Assistant coach Loren Wappes worked out a new defensive scheme the day before the game and alleviated a lot of confusion, which was a key element to our win on Saturday,” Patenaude would relate to NSO. The Thunder is back in action on Wednesday night as they host Rainy River Community College.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com