ARMA — Northeast High School’s switch to the Three Rivers League is showing immediate results.
The Viking’s have embarked on the 2010 season with a 5-1 start after claiming a second-place finish at the Three Rivers League Tournament on Saturday in Pleasanton.
The Vikings began the day by defeating St. Paul, 25-18, 25-14. They followed that with a win over Altoona 25-5, 25-10. After that, they defeated Pleasanton 25-14, 25-23; Chetopa 25-12, 25-11 and Oswego 25-19, 25-18. The day culminated in a 25-17, 25-9 loss to Uniontown, for the championship.
Despite the runner-up finish, the Vikings are showing some promise for the 2010 season.
“Starting off with a 5-and-1 record was probably the best it’s been here in a long time,” senior Britney Clark said. “It goes to show other teams that we’re here to play and not mess around anymore.”
While Senior Khristen Dwyer and junior MacKenzie Tims were busy dominating the front row, Britney Clark was holding down the back row. Dwyer led the team with 36 kills on the day while Tims followed with 33. Clark racked-up 52 digs during the six matches.
“We don’t think it’s going to be handed to us,” head coach Jon Bingesser said. “Just with the Three Rivers League, we know they are some smaller schools, but we looked at every team one game at a time. For instance, we had to take care of St. Paul before we even started worrying about Altoona. We really did that.”
And the next challenge on the schedule is a Sept. 2 date with Galena on the road on Thursday. The Vikings will be looking to set another milestone with a win in the Bulldog’s backyard.
“It’s always the first triangular of the season right after the first tournament,” Bingesser said. “We’ve never gotten them first, and that’s always been our only loss in the triangular. To them.”
Clark said that hopefully the early success has been able to send a message to the team, its opponents and the community. A 2-0 finish at Galena or even just a win over the Bulldogs, would help amplify that message.
“We have a lot of potential,” she said. “I think that starting off five-and-one, we’ve shown that it’s there and it’s not just hearsay.”
The triangular is set to start at 4 p.m. at Galena High School.
