Panthers finish Tigers

Published 12:05 am Thursday, October 29, 2015

After posting its only victory over a 20-win team at Rochester Century during the regular season, the Albert Lea volleyball team was unable to replicate that result in the postseason.

The No. 7-seed Panthers avenged a 3-1 loss on Oct. 6 with a 3-0 win Wednesday over the No. 10-seed Tigers in the first round of the Section 1AAA tournament at Rochester.

Game scores were 25-13, 25-21 and 25-23.

Email newsletter signup

Albert Lea (7-18, 3-8 Big Nine) was led by Julia Deyak and Camryn Keyeski, who combined with 18 kills and 30 digs and are part of a six-player junior class will return next season.

Kassandra Jansen had a team-high 11 assists, and Paige Landsman added nine for the Tigers.

Over the course of the season, Albert Lea coach Jamie Cameron said his team made strides in the mental aspect of the game.

“It’s about focusing on the next point, not the last point,” he said. “They’ve improved there.”

Four Albert Lea seniors played their last high school match: Kassandra Jansen, Emma Iverson, Allison Grandstrand and Kaitlynn Mondeel.

“All the girls this year were a great group, and the seniors will be missed,” Cameron said.

The Tigers won matches against Austin (4-23, 0-11 Big Nine), Rochester John Marshall (8-18, 2-9 Big Nine), Fillmore Central (14-13, 7-5 Three Rivers), Burnsville (8-20, 0-9 South Suburban), Chanhassen (12-17, 5-2 Metro West), Century (21-6, 6-5 Big Nine) and St. Cloud Tech (13-12, 7-5 Central Lakes) this season.

Cameron said he plans to coach youth in the offseason as part of Albert Lea’s club volleyball program and return as the varsity coach next season.

Century advanced to play No. 2-seed Rochester Mayo (24-2, 10-1 Big Nine) in the section quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday. When the Panthers played the Spartans in the regular-season finale for both teams, Mayo won 3-0.