Huskies win home opener in five sets

Owatonna volleyball kicked off its 2025 season with a gritty, five-set win over Rosemount last week.

The Huskies entered the year with high expectations after returning the majority of the team’s top offensive contributors, and utilized their weapons effectively in a big non-conference matchup.

“It feels great. We came in confident and not nervous at all. It’s a cities team. You know, we always have that little name on our backs as like a small town. We were ready to win. Expecially in our first home game of the season,” said senior captain Kendra Bogen.

The first two sets of the match were hard-fought, but Owatonna was the cleaner team and took a commanding 2-0 lead after winning 25-20 and 25-17.

The third set was the tightest of the match and came down to the wire with Owatonna eventually taking a 25-24 match-point lead.

Rosemount called a timeout to stop the Huskies’ momentum and when play returned, the Irish found the points they needed to leap frog the Huskies and win the set 28-26.

Now leading 2-1, Owatonna’s defense began to temporarily fall apart as Rosemount’s offense found new life.

The Irish continued to look strong in the fourth set and won 25-21 to force the 15-point tiebreaker.

From the moment the ball was put into play to start the fifth set, Owatonna was undeniably the better team.

The Huskies rallied together and dominated the Irish in 15-4 final set to win the match and start the season 1-0.

“The player leadership on this team is outstanding. We’ve been working really hard to build that. Their composure after dropping that close set and taking their best hit, to reset and win that fifth set was incredible,” said Owatonna Head Coach Josh Halva.

Owatonna’s next game will be at home against Kasson-Mantorville on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 7:15 p.m.