BROOKINGS – Brookings led 17-16 in the first set, but several unforced errors gave Sioux Falls Lincoln a 25-19 first set win. The Patriots would go on to win sets two, 27-25, and set three, 25-15, to earn the sweep on Thursday night at Brookings High School.

“We started off the match a little slow with a lot of unforced errors in the first set,” Bobcat head coach Tina Birgen said. “By the second set we turned it around and the girls came back and competed very hard the rest of the match.”

In set two, Brookings trailed late in the match at 20-18 but a three-point rally gave the Bobcats a 21-20 lead and forced a Patriots timeout.
Leading 24-22 the Bobcats needed just a point to claim the set, but the Patriots reversed the momentum, tying the set at 24.

Tayla Dobrenski’s kill again pushed the Bobcats to within a point of the win, but Lincoln would not be denied as they rattled off three straight points to win the second set 27-25.

Brookings and Lincoln would trade points in the early stages of the third set, but a Patriots run would force Birgen to burn a timeout trailing 15-10 to try and slow Lincoln’s momentum.

Unfortunately for Brookings, the timeout did nothing to slow the Patriots who went on to a 25-15 set three win and a 3-0 sweep of the match.

“That third set, we were back and forth to start,” Birgen said. “Then a momentum change came, and our girls didn’t have enough to push through it.”

Lincoln’s tall hitters caused problems throughout the match as they were able to get good swings on the ball and driving it past the Bobcats’ front row defense, but Birgen commended her back row players who were busy most of the match.

“Some of our back row players did a wonderful job; our back row defense was phenomenal,” Birgen said.

Brookings recorded 26 kills in the match. Gracie Adamson, Riley Weisbeck, and Dobrenski all had six.

Adamson and Weisbeck had three service aces each as the Bobcats tallied seven for the night, and the same duo led Brookings in digs as Weisbeck had 16 and Adamson added 12.

Emily Harms posted 11 digs to go along with 22 set assists.

The Bobcats now turn their attention to a road matchup at Roosevelt on Tuesday.

“We tend to always play a very competitive match with Roosevelt, and they have a strong setter running their offense” Birgen added.

The loss Thursday night drops the Bobcat record to 8-13.

In the preliminaries, Brookings won the JV match 25-22 and 25-20. The Bobcats also won the sophomore match, 25-15 and 25-16, and the freshman “A” match, 25-22 and 25-11.

Lincoln won the freshman “B” match, 16-25, 25-22, and 15-9.