KMS tops ACGC and Belgrade-BE to open up Section 5A tournament

The KMS volleyball team opened up the Section 5A Tournament with a pair of wins, advancing the Saints into the quarterfinal round this week.
KMS, seeded fourth in one of four “pods” in Section 5A, opened up the tournament with a 25-16, 25-19, 18-25, 25-19 victory over fifth-seeded ACGC, Thursday night in Kerkhoven.
The Saints then upset top-seeded Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, Friday, in a three-game sweep, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14.  “It was an awesome night at BBE,” coach Joquel Molenaar said.  “The girls put everything together and played a clean match.  The girls started the night with the attitude that this was not going to be it for them for the season.  They were determined to play had and multiple players stepped up, playing at the next level.”
That puts KMS up against second-seeded Browerville-Eagle Valley (11-13 overall record) at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday (yesterday) at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School.  Playing at 6 p.m. will be Verndale and Kimball, the top two seeds in another “pod”.
The sub-section championship is set for 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 3 at Little Falls.  If KMS beats Browerville-EV, it would play the winner of the Verndale-Kimball Area matchup.
The Saints fell in three games to Kimball Area earlier this year, but that was the second match after senior Sam Gjerde was injured, and things have changed for the Saints since her return.  
KMS was 8-1 when she went down with an injury during a five-game loss to Canby, and the Saints went 1-13 in her absence.  She returned for the Underwood Tourney, where the Saints went 1-3 and now, KMS has opened up the section tournament with a pair of impressive wins.
The Section 5A title match is set for 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5 at Pierz High School.
 
For more on this story, and to keep up on all the latest in area sports, subscribe to the Swift County Monitor-News print edition or our PDF internet edition. Call 320-843-4111 and you can get all the local news and sports delivered to you!

Pictured: Alexandra Walsh (5) pounds a spike past the ACGC defense during the Section 5A opener, Thursday as teammates, Sam Gjerde (left), and Morgan Lesteberg (8) look on.  KMS also beat BBE in its second section match.