East Grand Forks wins first set before falling to No. 1 New Life Academy at state tournament

ST. PAUL — During the regular season, only two teams took a set from the New Life Academy volleyball team. The No. 1-seeded Eagles, who have 25 sweeps on the season, were given a rare challenge Thursday by East Grand Forks Senior High when the Green Wave won the opening set. After two tight sets to open the match, however, New Life Academy found its stride and beat the No. 8 Green Wave 23-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-9 in the Minnesota Class AA state quarterfinals at Grand Casino Arena. East Grand Forks was playing in the program's first state tournament. "We knew coming in we were the eight seed, but we know we have good volleyball in our neck of the woods," East Grand Forks coach Paula Devine said. "We came out really strong. We wished we could've finished the second set because then maybe things might have been a little different. Our kids competed, worked hard and scrappy. They played with a lot of pride out there." In the opening set, the Wave jumped out to leads of 11-6 and 15-8.

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