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In the highly anticipated close to the Mississippi 8 Conference season, the unbeaten North Branch volleyball team took on the unbeaten Monticello team with the conference title hanging in the balance, and for the second year in a row, the Magic claimed the top spot with a 3-1 win.

Monticello 3, North Branch 1

Dakota Esget opened the scoring with a big kill for North Branch and the Vikings took the early lead on some swings by Sophia Benedict to go up 4-2. Jo Bartkey then won a joust to put NB up 6-4, and then got in on a block for a 7-4 lead. A sneak set by Minke and a Magic error gave NB the 9-4 lead and forced a Monticello timeout.

The break proved effective for the Magic as they tied it up quickly at 11-11 and then took the lead briefly at 12-11. The two teams wrestled for control of the set over the next few points, but Monticello started to take control after they tied the set at 15-15. They ran off the next three points and put the pressure on NB. The Vikings responded like the tough team they are, winning the next three to tie it back up.

The key stretch in the set came with North Branch up 21-20. Monticello’s middle got a big swing on the ball but Jenna Minke had a beautiful dig to get the ball in the air. But, the two Vikings converging on the pass didn’t communicate and neither went for the ball as it fell to the ground for a Monticello point. Head Coach Mike Selbitschka seemed to know that was a key as the normally stoic coach jumped up and down multiple times in frustration at the unforced error after the beautiful dig.

With the score tied at 21, the two teams got into a long, sustained rally that seemed like another major tipping point, and Monticello came away with it after an overset by the Vikings led the to a ball falling harmlessly out of bounds. The Magic eventually won the set that had looked so promising for North Branch 25-22.

In the second set, Monticello carried the momentum from the come-from-behind win in the first and piled it on, winning 25-17.

The Magic offense was humming in the set and that kept North Branch’s offense from getting into system. Some tough service by Monti also kept NB scrambling in a way they don’t typically do.

In the third set, North Branch got back to their style, playing sound defense and pressuring Monticello with some big swings and crafty placement. Bartkey, Benedict, Esget and Avery Smith all had some big kills for the Vikings as they won 25-16 to draw within one at 2-1.

But, in the fourth set, the Vikings just couldn’t quite get to even, which would’ve shifted the pressure back to Monticello as the Magic closed out the game, winning 25-18 and claiming their fourth straight Mississippi 8 Conference crown while North Branch finished in second place for the second year in a row.

In the game, Esget had 16 kills and nine digs, Benedict had 13 kills, eight digs and three blocks. Bartkey had eight kills and eight blocks and Smith had four kills, three aces, six digs and seven blocks. Jenna Minke had 28 assists and the freshman moved into the top 10 in career assists at North Branch High School and has her sights set on Morgen Coleman’s career record of 2,212.

The loss closed out NB’s conference season, and they finished with a non-conference matchup against Kasson-Mantorville earlier this week.

The Vikes are awaiting their seeding in the tough Section 7AAA bracket. They’ll be battling with Hermantown and Grand Rapids for the second, third and fourth seeds as Cloquet has all but wrapped up the top seed.

The Vikings will assuredly get at least one home game, and it would be on Wednesday, October 25 at 6 p.m. with the opponent being either Princeton, Rock Ridge or Duluth Denfeld.

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