In the pre-season the Yellowjacket volleyball team was picked by U.M.A.C. coaches to finish the year in third place. Saturday the team got its first opportunity to make a statement to other teams in the conference, and in the process looked to snap a short, two-match losing skid.
 
Mission accomplished, as the Yellowjackets opened conference play with a convincing straight-sets win over North Central.
 
Yellowjackets 3, North Central 0
 
The Yellowjackets controlled the play from the outset in their first match of the day, Saturday, using an overpowering offense to put the Rams away quickly.
 
In the opening set the Yellowjackets fell behind early, losing three of the first four points before coming back to take a commanding lead. Down 3-2 the Yellowjackets would win 10 of the next 12 points to put things out of reach. A kill from Cami Sletta (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) gave the Yellowjackets a double-digit lead in the opening frame and they would continue to pour it on. A pair of North Central errors would close out the first set, giving the Yellowjackets a 25-11 win and a 1-0 lead.
 
Good things continued for the Yellowjackets in the second set, as Brylee Colligan (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) went to the line and served the Yellowjackets to a 7-2 lead early. The lead would bulge to 15-8 before North Central went on a bit of a run and pulled to within two, 15-13. A Colligan kill stopped the bleeding, and then she would again use her serving prowess to give the Yelowjackets six points in a row to make the set a laugher. The Yellowjackets would take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-14 win in the second set.
 
Looking to put the match away the Yellowjackets came out flying in the third set, winning nine of the first 11 points. The lead would increase to nine behind the serve of A.J. Runck (Annandale, Minn./Apple Valley), but the 17-8 advantage wouldn't last. North Central would win six of the next seven points to make the third set interesting, but the Yellowjackets would do what they needed to do, winning five of the last six points to cruise to a 25-18 win in the final set.
 
Sletta had 10 kills to lead a Yellowjacket offense that attacked at a 38-percent clip. Taylor Howe (Webster, Wis./Webster) was next with seven kills. Emily VerWay (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) had 26 assists. On defense Karlie Leif (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) had a team-best 11 digs.
 
Yellowjackets 3, Bethany Lutheran 0
 
The Yellowjackets kept it going in their second match of the day, easily dispatching of Bethany Lutheran in straight sets to sweep the day and open the U.M.A.C. season in impressive fashion.
 
Starting fast once again, the Yellowjackets rode the serve of VerWay and a number of Bethany Lutheran errors to a 7-0 lead. Even after the streak was done the Yellowjackets kept pressing and easily took the opening set, 25-7.
 
There was more drama in the second set, with the Yellowjackets and the Vikings trading points before Bethany Lutheran pulled ahead 9-6. VerWay and Colligan answered with kills and the Yellowjackets regained the lead at 10-9. Sletta and Hannah Goggleye (Calumet, Minn./Greenway) combined for back-to-back blocks to push the Yellowjacket lead to three, 13-10, but the lead was short-lived and Bethany Lutheran would again draw even. The Yellowjackets broke a 15-15 tie on a kill from Ashlee Bayer (Cameron, Wis./Cameron) and pulled ahead for good. VerWay ended the set with an ace to give the Yellowjackets a 25-20 win.
 
The Yellowjackets would win seven of the first 10 points of the third set and keep the Vikings at arms-length throughout. VerWay and Colligan continued to pile up attacks and kills as the Yellowjackets led 13-5. As the set wore on the lead continued to grow and the Yellowjackets would close it out following a pair of Bethany Lutheran errors, taking the set 25-13 and the match 3-0.
 
Goggleye led a balanced Yellowjacket attack with eight kills, while Bayer and Colligan had six. The Yellowjackets had a .321 attack percentage in the match. VerWay, in addition to her three kills also had 28 assists. Leif had a team-best 10 digs, while Colligan and Doranna Blascyk (Hoffman, Minn./West Central Area) each had seven.
 
Up Next: The Yellowjackets (7-5, 2-2 U.M.A.C.) will stay in conference play and compete in a triangle Tuesday, September 18. They will take on Northland at 5:00 p.m. and St. Scholastica at 7:00 p.m. at the Reif Center in Duluth.