Matched up against the #1 team in class 3A, the Atlantic Trojan volleyball team made their way to Carroll on Wednesday with the hopes of keeping their season alive. The Trojans held a record of 8-27 coming into the Regional Quarterfinal, while the opposition arrived with an almost-perfect record of 39-1–their only loss coming from conference champion St. Albert.

In conference play, the Trojans fell to the Knights in straight sets, 25-6, 25-17, 25-14. Atlantic hoped to fight against their talented challengers in this must-win situation.

Kuemper Catholic started the match with service. The Knights aced the Trojans in the first three possessions of the match. After seven straight Kuemper points, the Trojans got on the scoreboard after a service error. Atlantic claimed another point when senior Taylor Hansen got a block for the Trojans. In the first set, Kuemper Catholic had two runs of seven points and a final run of 11 points that clinched the set 25-2.

Atlantic started off with the ball in the second set. Right away, Kuemper got rolling and made kill after kill on the Trojans. Kuemper Catholic strung points together and looked to end the set, but a kill by sophomore Alyssa Derby halted the Knights 24-6. With sophomore Haley Rasmussen serving, the Trojans gained momentum to earn some points on the scoreboard and keep the set going. However, after a four-point run by Atlantic, Kuemper claimed the last point needed to end the second set, 25-10.

With their backs against the wall, and the season looking to come to a close, Atlantic dug in at the start of the third set. During the second rally, Atlantic snagged a kill on the Knights and tied the score up at 1-1. Junior Chloe Davis went back to serve, and good defense by the Trojans helped them gain the lead for the first time all night. On the next possession, Kuemper put up a block on the Trojans, and tied the game back up. The opposition would go on a six point run to help secure the lead and the win. Atlantic dropped the last set–which would be the last of the season–25-6.

In their final match, the Trojans went 17-18 from behind the service line. Hansen put up a block and had three digs in her last match. Senior Emma Joyce put up two blocks. Finally, senior Sadie Welter notched two digs.

The Trojans ended the 2018 season with a record of 8-28. They went 0-10 in conference play. Through 90 total sets, the group had 466 kills and 97 aces.