Grizzlies pushed by Chisholm, breeze past NER

FIELD TWP- The North Woods volleyball team picked up a pair of match wins over Chisholm and Northeast Range this past week as they tuned up for Tuesday’s big tilt against Ely.
If the Grizzlies needed another challenging match under their belts, they got it from Chisholm on Monday in a home matchup that the Bluestreaks took to five games.
Chisholm overcame an early deficit in the first game, taking the lead at 10-9. The Grizzlies had challenges in fielding serves and setting up their hitters as the Bluestreaks forged in front 19-12, forcing a North Woods time out. The break did little good, however, as Chisholm closed out the first game with a 25-18 win.
The Grizzlies rounded back into regular form for game two, leading from beginning to end. Hitters Lauren Burnett and Izzy Pascuzzi consistently found the range on big kill shots that helped North Woods to an 18-12 lead. Chisholm’s attempt at a late rally fell short as the Grizzlies evened the match with a 25-21 win.
The Grizzlies were reminded in the third game that no lead is safe against an equal opponent. After trading points in the early going North Woods slipped ahead 11-10, then grew that lead to 17-11 on a streak that included three Pascuzzi kills. The lead was eight at 23-15 when the Bluestreaks caught fire. North Woods’ Carsyn Burnett stopped one run with a dunk at the net to put the Grizzlies one point away from the win, 24-20. But that was the last point North Woods would score, as Chisholm went on a 6-0 run to regain the match lead 2-1 with a 26-24 win.
When the Grizzlies took a 6-5 lead in the fourth game, they appeared resolved to not let another game slip away. With North Woods getting good contributions across the lineup, they pushed the lead to 15-10 on a Burnett kill. Several key defensive plays kept the Grizzlies in points they eventually won as they pulled away from the Bluestreaks to win 25-16 and even the match.
North Woods carried that momentum into the final game, racing to a 6-0 advantage. Chisholm wouldn’t go down easily, fighting back to within one at 10-9, but with the Grizzlies leading 12-10 the Bluestreaks had no answer for the rifle arm of Burnett, who hammered three kills to hand the win and the match to the Grizzlies 15-11.
Dominate NER
The Grizzlies were on the road last Thursday to take on the Nighthawks of Northeast Range. With wins over common opponents Mt. Iron-Buhl and International Falls, the Nighthawks were primed for an upset.
Instead, the Grizzlies had little difficulty in controlling the match. The Nighthawks made incremental improvements along the way, but North Woods kept a firm grip throughout, winning 25-14, 35-17, and 25-18.
In stats provided by the Nighthaks, Kaydence Hancock was the big hitter on the night for NER with nine kills. Danica Sunblad and Chloe Janeksela anchored the defense with 10 digs each.