Two-set loss for Fremd Vikings

Despite losing the first set in Tuesday's home match against Barrington High School, a late run appeared to put the Fremd Vikings in a position to come out fired up in the second set.

The Vikings put together a 5-1 run and looked to be regrouping after falling behind 12-19 to the Fillies. However, 4 quick aces to start the second set by Barrington senior Meagan Combs took away any Fremd's momentum. They went on to lose the match in two sets (19-25, 8-25).

"It was all mental," said Vikings senior Alex Messner about her team's performance. "We just went out there and missed a couple, and we couldn't pull it together."

Messner was a bright spot for Fremd. She had 6 kills in the game and was the spark that ignited the Vikings run late in the first set, contributing 4 kills and an assist during that stretch.

"Alex has done a fantastic job," Vikings' head coach Curt Pinley said. "She has actually had to step up and be a major contributor the last few weeks. She's been a captain, she's been running our practices at the beginning and she has been that leader."

Marylin Lortz contributed 12 assists and both Jessi Wiedermann and Rebecca Clarke added another 3 kills. Mistakes, however, allowed Barrington to control the match from the beginning.

"Barringtin played with a lot of positive emotion, and they were ready," Pinley said. "There were a few things we didn't do very well. We didn't serve-receive well tonight, and to Barrington's credit, they kept the pressure on us."

Sophomore Lauren Shechtman was active both offensively and defensively for Barrington, finishing the game with 5 kills and 6 blocks. Three more Fillies, Julia Thompson, Joy Johnson and Annabel Perry added 4 kills apiece in Barrington's victory. Thompson and Johnson also added 3 blocks.

Despite the loss, the Vikings still are in a good position to finish the season with an above .500 record. They are 14-7 and only have seven matches remaining before Regional competition.

"We didn't answer the bell tonight, but it's only one game and hopefully we can bounce back," Pinley said.