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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Grizzlies downed by Deer River in huge upset

Marcus White
Posted 10/31/18

FIELD TWP— Deer River had the Grizzlies’ number this year, and they proved it again last Friday as they upset top-seeded North Woods in five sets to advance in the Section 7A playoffs. The …

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Grizzlies downed by Deer River in huge upset

Posted

FIELD TWP— Deer River had the Grizzlies’ number this year, and they proved it again last Friday as they upset top-seeded North Woods in five sets to advance in the Section 7A playoffs. The Grizzlies came into the game as the odds-on favorite to win the section, posting an imposing 22-3 regular season record. The Warriors had delivered one of those three losses, in a five-set match back on Sept. 10, and they staged a repeat last week, ending the Grizzlies’ season in five sets, winning 25-19, 23-25, 18-25, 25-23, and 15-8. At 17-8, the Warriors were hardly a pushover, but the result proved a shocker nevertheless. Head Coach Gabby Sundstrom offered no comment on the disappointing loss.

Morgan Burnett led the team with a season-high 37 set assists. She also had two aces and two digs. Karlyn Pierce wasn’t far behind, leading the team in overall kills for the game with 13.

Coley Olson had 12 digs and two ace serves.

Earlier in the week, North Woods charged into the playoffs with a convincing win against Mt. Iron-Buhl, sweeping the team 25-16, 25-16, 25-17.

For that game, Regan Ratai led the team with 15 kills, followed closely by Olson who had 13 kills. Burnett had 25 set assists and two ace serves.

As they look ahead to next year, the Grizzlies will see a major reshuffling as graduation thins the starter ranks on the senior-dominated team. This year’s seniors included Hanna Sandberg, Regan Ratai, Claire Beaudry, Taylor Mejdrich, Kate Stone and Maddy Serna.