November 5, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.
North Branch moves on to section finals in commanding fashion
North Branch moves on to section finals in commanding fashion
On their own home court in the section quarterfinals, North Branch took care of Princeton easily, dispatching them in three sets, 25-15, 25-12, 25-18.
A trio of seniors really led the Vikings to the blowout victory, with Courtney Selbitschka putting down 12 kills and coming up with seven digs. Morgen Coleman had six kills, nine digs and 27 assists while Cassie Kunshier had 25 digs on defense.
Madison Hadrava and Kelsey Allaman each added six kills on the night, giving North Branch some dangerous supporting hitters.
Cianna Selbitschka finished with only three kills but she made her presence felt in other ways with two aces, two blocks and 12 digs.
North Branch also got big favors from both Anoka and Andover as the two Northwest Suburban Conference teams knocked out higher seeded teams and the only two teams left in the section who had beat North Branch at some point this year.
Anoka, who is the fifth seed, swept fourth-seeded Forest Lake to move on to play North Branch.
The Tornado victory was significant because Forest Lake had beaten North Branch 3-2 in late September.
North Branch's win over Princeton was just a precursor, though, to their section semifinals game against the Tornadoes on Wednesday, November 4. If their win over Princeton was comfortable, their win over Anoka was downright dominating. The Vikings didn't allow Anoka to enter double digits until the third set, winning the first two sets 25-7 and 25-9.
In the third set, the Vikes punched their ticket to the section finals by winning 25-18. Cianna Selbitschka led the team with nine kills as North Branch's pressure and accurate hitting forced Anoka into a comedy of errors all night.
On the other half of the bracket, sixth-seeded Andover beat third-seeded Elk River in the quarters before falling to Grand Rapids in the semifinals.
The section final game will be played at Forest Lake on Saturday, November 7 at 7 p.m. against the Thunderhawks of Grand Rapids. The two teams played each other in early October in the championship game of the Duluth East tournament. The Vikings beat GR 25-19, 25-22 and were led by 21 combined kills from the Selbitschka sisters.
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