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Although the North Branch-Chisago Lakes volleyball rivalry has been one-sided lately in favor of the Vikings, the Wildcats did grab a set this time, as North Branch prevailed 3-1 at CL’s home court on Thursday, September 27.

The Vikings won the first set in pretty dominant fashion, going up early behind some big kills from Cianna Selbitschka and some unforced errors by Chisago Lakes.

In the second set, Chisago Lakes stunned many when they evened up the match at one set with a thrilling 25-23 win. Lindsey Craig had a big hand in keeping the Wildcats in the set and helping them finish at the end for the victory.

But, North Branch turned it up a notch in the third and fourth set, and reminded Chisago Lakes that they have a ways to go to be on the level North Branch is on. The Vikings cruised in the third set 25-14 before closing the match out with a 25-13 win in the fourth set.
For the Vikings, Selbitschka led the way with 22 kills, and a host of others had four kills, including Paige Sheehan, Kylie Kline, Lydia Langevin, Macy Bombard and Reagan Irons. Sheehan added 27 assists for North Branch.

North Branch really had a strong serve game going, with 21 team aces. Selbitschka had seven, Sheehan had six, Katie Anderson had four and Haley Hadrava had three.

For the Wildcats, they’re getting strong contributions from Craig, Kennedy Phillips and Amber Zins, but they just haven’t been able to put it together for a full match after their early season win over Cambridge-Isanti.

“We’ve played some really good volleyball this year in certain spots. We’ve played hard and taken risks and it’s paid off in spurts,” CL Head Coach Hannah Lindstrom said. “Clearly, we’re in a funk, but I’m honestly having a great time working through it with the girls. This is such a dream job for me and I’m excited for our program.”

Both teams have just two weeks left in the regular season, with three more Mississippi 8 Conference games and one big tournament. NB will play in Bloomington Jefferson on Saturday, October 13. Chisago Lakes will play on the same day in Byron against some very good small schools.

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