FARGO, N.D. — A day after a disappointing outing, the Valley City Hi-Liners responded with renewed effort and intensity Wednesday, battling Fargo North in an Eastern Dakota Conference dual. Despite falling 8-1, the Hi-Liners showed marked improvement.

“Today, the effort, intensity and positivity was vastly improved,” Valley City head coach Matt Nielson said. “That led to great points, games and matches.”

Andrew Hoff set the tone early at No. 6 singles, executing the game plan of staying consistent and deep. He rolled through the first set 6-1 before closing out the second 6-4 to earn his first career EDC victory.

“Congrats to Andrew on his first EDC win of his career,” Nielson said. “He executed exactly what we asked him to do.”

The Hi-Liners nearly added to the tally in multiple spots. Quin Kruger battled Fargo North’s Drew Burris, rallying from a slow start to push the second set into a tiebreaker before falling 7-6 (1). In doubles, Cole Haugen and Connor Liebersbach fought back from a set and 5-2 down to force a super tiebreak before narrowly dropping a 10-4 decision.

Perhaps the highlight of the afternoon came from Gray Kasowski at No. 5 singles. After dropping the first set, Kasowski responded with a 6-4 win in the second to force a deciding super tiebreak. With his teammates and JV squad watching, he battled point for point, even earning a match point at 9-8 before ultimately falling 11-9.

“Gray gave it his all,” Nielson said. “He has struggled with frustration in the past, but today he remained positive, believed he could win, and gave 100% effort on every point. His sportsmanship and communication were excellent. Our coaching staff and his teammates were amazed and proud of how he competed.”

The Hi-Liners are locked into the No. 8 seed for the conference tournament and will host Fargo South in a play-in match Monday at 4:30 p.m. at home. The winner advances to the regional tournament.

Box Score

Fargo North 8, Valley City 1
Valley City listed first

Singles

1. Cole Haugen lost to Arnav Panwalker 6-1, 6-2

2. Quin Kruger lost to Drew Burris 6-3, 7-6(1)

3. Kellen Westman lost to Nate Wilson 6-4, 6-3

4. Noah Tulp lost to Thomas Webb 6-0, 6-1

5. Gray Kasowski lost to Dhimant Mannuru 6-3, 4-6, 11-9

6. Andrew Hoff defeated John Bourke 6-1, 6-4

Doubles

1. Kruger/Westman lost to Panwalker/Burris 6-0, 6-2

2. Haugen/Liebersbach lost to Wilson/Webb 6-2, 6-7(5), 10-4

3. Colin Hoff/Matthew Holm lost to Mannuru/Matthew Vandrovec 7-6(3), 6-4