Falcon Volleyball Falls in Opener to New Prague

The Faribault Falcons had their chances for a different outcome in their season opener against the New Prague Trojans at Nomeland Gym on Friday night.

New Prague swept Faribault by scores of 25-23, 25-12 and 35-33.

Falcon first-year head coach JoAna Lane told Power 96 she was proud of her team for fighting until the end and definitely saw some positives to build on. Lane added there are also a lot of things to work on.

Faribault led in the first set 21-17 and the third set 21-16 and couldn't put away the Trojans.

New Prague played Thursday night at Mayer Lutheran and lost to the No. 6-ranked Class A team in a five-set thriller.

The Trojans clearly looked more comfortable on the floor and did not make as many errors as Faribault. Lane said some mental errors were killers for her team, and mental toughness is something they can definitely work on developing.

The first set ended on an out of rotation call on Faribault.

New Prague ran away with the second set and were led by their senior co-captains Anna Eaton and Lexi Johnson. Freshman setter Sophia Anderson was also impressive for the visitors.

By my account, the Trojans had eight ace serves and seven service errors while Faribault finished with two aces and five service errors. Lane agreed her team was a bit tentative serving late in a set with a lead.

The third set the Falcons had a 21-16 lead and saw it slip away. Faribault had six set points and New Prague seven match points in the marathon set, which ended on an ace serve by Anna Eaton.

Our State Farm Insurance Faribault players of the match courtesy of Jason Krohn and Tony Langerud were junior libero Grace Amacher, junior hitter Lauren Isaacson and senior hitter Elana Palmer.

The Falcons have a long layoff before hosting Northfield on September 8 in a match that will also be broadcast on Power 96 Radio.

Our first Faribault Bethlehem Academy broadcast will be Tuesday when they travel to Lakeville North. The broadcast on Power 96 Radio 95.9 FM will begin about 6:45PM.