CHERRY— For a while, it looked like the Grizzlies were headed for another straight-sets defeat at the hands of the Tigers. But a team that has come a long way this season reached deep enough to make it a five-set match.

“It was quite a rollercoaster,” said Grizzlies Head Coach Kandi Olson, who came away satisfied despite her team’s season-ending loss to Cherry.

The Tigers came out hard in the early going, beating North Woods 25-19 and 25-8 in the opening sets. “We started stagnantly and knew we’d have to do something drastic during the third game to turn the match around,” said Olson. “We made a slight rotation change and it was enough to start us on the uphill climb.”

The Grizzlies took the next two sets, 25-18 and 25-20, forcing the match to a deciding fifth set.

“In the final game, we had too many little errors early in the game that made it difficult to recover,” said Olson. The Tigers took a fast lead in the short set and held on for the 15-5 win.

North Woods senior standout Coley Olson had another big outing, racking up 13 kills and 18 digs, while fellow senior Karlyn Pierce posted 13 kills. Sophomore setter Morgan Burnett added 30 assists, six kills, and 13 digs, while senior Kayla Tschida added four kills and 12 digs.

Coach Olson said she was thrilled with the progress her team demonstrated throughout the season. “They are a great bunch of girls and I was proud to be their coach this season.  Looking forward, we have some great, young players who are planning on working hard to fill in the gaps that will be left by these outstanding seniors.”