CHERRY- The North Woods volleyball team returned to the court Friday in winning fashion, knocking off Cherry on the road 3-0.
The Grizzlies rebounded from their first match loss of the season on Sept. 12 to South Ridge with an effort that lacked the polish and precision of earlier wins through the first two sets.
Cherry opened a quick 3-0 lead before the Grizzlies got on the board with a Lauren Burnett kill shot, and an Isabel Pascuzzi slam gave North Woods a lead they would not relinquish at 5-4. While the offense continued to look a bit out of sync, the Grizzlies didn’t suffer against the 1-7 Tigers, who’ve won only four sets this season. A kill and a block by River Cheney put North Woods up 14-7, and the Grizzlies took their largest margin of the set at 23-9 on a block by Amber Sopoci. After a three-point Cherry run, the Grizzlies regained control and closed out the 25-15 win.Cherry made a game of it in the second set, taking advantage of North Woods miscues to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 10-5 lead. A Pascuzzi kill gave the ball back to the Grizzlies, and with Addy Hartway collecting an ace during her turn at the service line North Woods pulled back into a 10-10 tie. The Tigers would not go away, going up 16-13. Consecutive kills by Burnett and another by Hartway pulled the Grizzlies even again at 16-16, and it looked like North Woods was ready to pull away when Burnett smoked an ace for 20-17 advantage. But Cherry took the lead back at 21-20 on an ace that landed untouched in the corner, then squandered their momentum with a service fault. After a Tigers miscue Goodsky nailed an ace on the Cherry back line to put North Woods up by two, and the Grizzles won the struggle 25-22 on a kill by Pascuzzi.
There’s little doubt that between sets two and three Head Coach Kandi Olson harped on team focus – it’s been a factor she’s been emphasizing in recent matches, and it was certain to be so again after the Grizzlies’ lackluster second set.
Whatever the pep talk, the Grizzles responded. Looking the most at ease they had all evening, North Woods asserted control from the outset in the deciding third set. With two good service runs by Burnett and Goodsky the Grizzlies quickly took a commanding 10-2 lead and left little doubt that they were locked and loaded for Tigers the rest of the way. A pair of Burnett aces gave North Woods its largest lead of the set at 22-7, and North Woods took the set and match 25-11 when a Cherry return sailed out.
With the win the Grizzlies moved to 6-1 on the season. Up next is a Saturday tournament at Rock Ridge, a possible opportunity for a revenge match against South Ridge and a rivalry matchup against powerhouse Ely.