FIELD TWP- The North Woods Grizzlies honored their seniors on Tuesday before the regular-season-ending match against Floodwood, but the Polar Bears stole what the team and fans wanted most, a two-point match win in the most intense contest of the season.
In a match where shots and saves were flying fast and furious on both sides of the net, two balls the Grizzlies didn’t touch ultimately proved to be their undoing.
With the match tied at two sets apiece and Floodwood leading 8-7, the Polar Bears’ Logan Hart stepped to the service line and fired a shot that looked like it might sail long. The Grizzlies let it go and the ball dropped just inside the end line for an ace. Hart’s next serve sliced and caught the right sideline for another ace, giving Floodwood a 10-7 lead and forcing North Woods Head Coach Kandi Olson to call time out. With Floodwood feeling momentum swinging their way, they scored two more points before the Grizzlies’ River Cheney snapped the string with a kill the Polar Bears couldn’t return. But the four-point cushion was enough, and although Tori Olson put the Grizzlies in position to tie the set was a pair of aces of her own, it was Floodwood standout Kenzie Kiminski who snuffed out the North Woods rally with a kill that handed the set and match to the Polar Bears, 15-13.
North Woods fought from behind at the outset and tied the opening set 15-15 when a Floodwood kill sailed long but ran out of steam as the Polar Bears regained control and slipped away for a 25-19 win.
The Grizzlies fell behind 6-0 in the second before River Cheney slammed the ball down for a North Woods point, and tied the set 10-10 on an Isabel Pascuzzi kill off a block attempt. North Woods was up 18-17 when Pascuzzi stepped to the service line and the team caught fire. A slam at the net by Lauren Burnett and a Cheney kill were part of a five-point swing that put the Grizzlies ahead 23-17. Trailing 24-18, the Polar Bears wouldn’t surrender quietly, closing to 24-23 before Cheney blocked a Kiminski kill shot for the win to even the match.
North Woods led almost the entire third set and held a three-point lead at 22-19 when a service fault handed the ball to Floodwood. The Grizzlies hitting touch suddenly deserted them, with balls sailing long, wide, and into the next, and Floodwood scored six straight points to win 25-22 and take a 2-1 lead.
In a do-or-die fourth set for the Grizzlies, it was Addy Hartway who got the kill to break a 12-12 tie and give North Woods a lead they would not relinquish. The Grizzlies quickly extended the lead to 19-13 and maintained control to collect a 25-20 win and force the deciding fifth set.
“Floodwood is an awesome team,” Olson said. “They were so scrappy everywhere, off the net, out of the back court, everywhere. I’ve got to give them credit because they were running like crazy out on that court.”
Olson notes Cheney’s role as a catalyst in pumping up the Grizzlies’ attack.
“When she turns the energy on, it’s just infectious for everyone,” Olson said. “She just really became a force in that second set and everyone just fed off of her energy. She was amazing.”
While the loss was disappointing on senior night, Olson had nothing but praise for seniors Addy Hartway, Madison Dantes, River Cheney, Talise Goodsky, and Tori Olson.
“Many of them have been playing together since eighth and ninth grade on varsity – they earned those spots right away and they’ve just continued to develop their skills throughout,” Olson said. “If you look at our seniors as a whole, they each come to the court with different skill sets that they use to really help our team.”
Chisholm
Sometimes teams win by overpowering their opponents, other times by outthinking them. The Grizzlies did both on Monday at Chisholm, taking down the Bluestreaks in straight sets.
Sophomore Brynn Chosa got the starting nod for the Grizzlies, filling in for injured senior Tori Olson, and she set the tone early with a strong turn at the service line that put North Woods up 6-0. The Grizzlies had no problem turning that early lead into a 25-17 win.
Burnett and Pascuzzi got big hits to break a 5-5 tie in the second set, and the with the Grizzlies set on cruise control they took the second set 25-16.
Chisholm pulled off the gloves in the third set, leading by as many as four in the early going. When North Woods tied the score at 13 on a Burnett kill, the Bluestreaks responded with a four-point flurry to take a 17-13 lead. But the Grizzlies pulled back into an 18-18 tie, and the teams traded blows from there, locking the score at 19, 22, and 24. Talise Goodsky broke the deadlock with a stuff at the net, and Cheney sealed the 26-24 match winner with a block.
Silver Lake
The 6-14 Silver Bay Mariners put up little resistance when the Grizzlies came calling on Thursday, Oct. 12. North Woods was firing on all cylinders as they defeated the Mariners in straight sets, 25-13, 25-16, and 25-15.
According to the QRF seeding formula on Minnesota-scores.net, the Grizzlies have a lock on the No. 2 seed in their subsection when 7A sectional play begins next week. North Woods will have home court advantage for its first game on Wednesday. Official seedings, opponents, match times and locations will be announced this weekend and will be published on the Timberjay’s website and Facebook page.