KMS falls in four games to Kimball in sub-section finals

The KMS volleyball team moved into the sub-section finals with a 25-22, 25-15, 25-20 victory over Browerville-Eagle Valley last Tuesday night at Little Falls.  The Saints had already opened up the Section 5A Tourney with a four-game win over ACGC and a three-game sweep of one of the four top-seeds in the section, BBE.
With the win over Browerville-EV, the Saints moved on to face second-seeded Kimball Area for the sub-section title.  Kimball Area upset top-seeded Verndale one round earlier.
In that match, KMS won the first set against Kimball, Thursday in Little Falls, but Kimball rallied to win the last three to earn a 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 27-25 victory.  Kimball went on to sweep Braham for the Section 5A title and advance to the state tourney, set for this Thursday through Saturday.
KMS ended its season with a 13-18 overall record, and will lose seven seniors to graduation -- Kori Forsell, Riley Hart, Samantha Gjerde, Tori Everson, Alexis Lamecker, Molly Jeppesen, and Kaitlin Ilgen.
However, during the final match of the season, the Saints used 10 players and one was a junior, two were sophomores, two were ninth-graders, and one was an eighth-grader, meaning the KMS volleyball program should be fine for the next several years.
“I’m so proud of the girls and the season they had,” coach Joquel Molenaar said.  “They fought through a lot of adversity and came within a few points of playing for a state tournament berth.  It was a great season!”
 
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Pictured: Halie Nichols comes up to bump a serve during Section 5A Tournament action in Kerkhoven as Tori Everson (9), Morgan Lesteberg, and libero Katie Krieger (1) look on.