LAKE MILLS, Iowa – The Algona Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears came out in a frenzy, surprising the favored Lake Mills Bulldogs in the early going.

Tuesday, October 30, 2001

LAKE MILLS, Iowa – The Algona Bishop Garrigan Golden Bears came out in a frenzy, surprising the favored Lake Mills Bulldogs in the early going.

In game two, it was if the Bulldogs said, &uot;Enough already.&uot;

After dropping the opening game 15-13, the Bulldogs took control quickly in the second and went on to a 3-1 victory in an Iowa Class 1A, Region 4 volleyball semifinal at Lake Mills Monday night. The final tally in favor of Lake Mills was 13-15, 15-6, 15-1, 15-11.

The Bulldogs added to their school-record victory total, improving to 31-6-1 while the Golden Bears finished 19-13-1.

&uot;Give Lake Mills a lot of credit,&uot; said Garrigan coach Dave Schnurr. &uot;They were so good defensively that we really struggled to get points.&uot;

Katie Pederson led the Bulldogs with 22 kills and 11 blocks. Kelsey Christianson had 16 kills, Jill Helgeson nine. Helgeson also had six aces and 17 service points. Christianson had 10 service points. Kjerstin Back was 17-for-17 serving. Katy Kingland totaled 28 assists. Back led the Bulldogs with four digs; Staci Hagen had three.

The game-one loss was the first in postseason play for the Bulldogs, who drilled West Hancock 15-1, 15-4, 15-5 in the quarterfinals.

&uot;Since opening 10-4 on the season, the girls have really started to open things up,&uot; said Bulldogs coach Jim Boehmer.

The win advanced the Bulldogs to the region championship match against Rockwell-Swaledale or Aplington-Parkersburg Thursday at a site to be determined. The winner qualifies for the state tournament Nov. 8-10 at Cedar Rapids U.S. Cellular Center.