Viking volleyers in high gear going into home stretch

Hans Baumann / AbDiver Photography
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — South Tahoe volleyball is on an amazing roll.
The Vikings have lost just one set in three weeks. They have won seven straight matches and are peaking at the right time of year.
The Vikings (17-9, 13-1 Northern League) if they keep this pace are on a collision course to face rival Truckee (14-0 Northern) on Monday at home with a share of the league title on the line.
“I have been blessed this year with a group of nine seniors, many of which I have had the opportunity to coach since they were in seventh grade,” said Vikings head coach Kelly Racca. “It has been a fun season for me to watch them grow into resilient, supportive and efficient teammates.”
South Tahoe dumped Churchill County 3-0 on Friday, Oct. 18, in Fallon, Nev., then came home four its final four games, starting Wednesday with a 3-0 victory over Dayton.
While the Vikings swept Churchill, the match couldn’t have been much closer with each game finishing at 25-23.
Abrielle Bross led the Vikings 30-kill attack with 17 while Jerra McLaughlin had seven.
The Vikings were deadly from the service line with 14 aces and just four errors in 72 attempts.
Bross led the way with five aces, McLaughlin had three and Zoe Brosch and Tyler Pevenage each had two.
Brosch made 19 digs while Bross had 13 and Pevenage set up 18 points. Brosch also had a team-high 21 serves received with just two errors.
Against Dayton on Wednesday night, the Vikings prevailed 3-1 and surrendered their first set in the last five matches.
Abrielle Bross was unstoppable with 21 kills to lead a 58-kill night for the Vikings.
McLaughlin added 11, Alysse Bross had nine and Pevenage eight and she also had 47 assists.
Kaitlyn Racca was a monster from the service line. She served 33 times without an error and recorded 11 aces — 33%.
The Vikings next will host North Valleys (1-15 Northern) at 6 p.m. Friday before playing Truckee on Monday. They finish the season Wednesday, senior night, against third place Fernley (12-3 Northern).
Racca is looking forward to see what this team can do against its rival and in the playoffs. She feels her role has changed given such an experienced group.
“We work on higher level skill development in practice,” Racca said. “In games I have become more of an emotion and pace manager. I do very little in-match. player-directed instruction. If they make an error they know exactly what adjustments they need to make and can openly express their fix to me. It has taken me years of running this program to develop the athletes to this point, and it is a blast to sit back and watch the fruit of our labor.”

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