FIELD TWP- The North Woods volleyball team logged plenty of road miles during a busy six-day stretch, playing seven matches at four locations and coming away with four wins and three losses.
The Grizzlies opened the road swing Thursday at Mesabi East, falling to the Giants in four sets, 18-25, 25-19, 15-25, and 13-25.
Michaela Brunner led North Woods with six kills. Laurin Glass collected 14 digs, while Ella Kruse and Kalleigh Goodsky each had nine. Carsyn Burnett handed out 13 assists, and Goodsky added seven.
North Woods returned to the road Saturday for four matches at the Greenway tournament in Coleraine, finishing the day with a 3-1 record.
North Woods drew Mesabi East again for the opening round, and the Giants continued their mastery over the Grizzlies, sweeping the match 25-13 and 27-25.
North Woods bounced back with a three-set win over Northeast Range. The Grizzlies dropped the opening set 26-24 before taking the next two, 25-15 and 15-10.
The Grizzlies followed with another three-set victory over Bigfork, rebounding from a 25-17 opening-set loss to take the next two, 25-14 and 15-8.
North Woods closed the tournament with a three-set win over International Falls. The Grizzlies won the opening set 26-24, dropped the second 25-17, and prevailed 15-13 in the deciding set.
LaNara Guenther led the Grizzlies with 21 kills across the four tournament matches, while Glass finished with 14. C. Burnett totaled 71 assists and nine aces, and Kruse served eight aces.
Kruse also led the defense with 21 digs. Tessa Burnett recorded 18 digs, Glass had 11, and Brunner added seven.
The Grizzlies were back on the road Monday for a tough matchup at Deer River, where they shook off an opening-set loss to defeat the Warriors 22-25, 25-22, 25-14, and 25-21.
Carsyn Burnett and Lucy Tahlberg each had six kills, while C. Burnett distributed 32 assists. Kruse led the defense with 15 digs, T. Burnett had nine, and Glass finished with eight.
North Woods wrapped up the stretch Tuesday at South Ridge. The Grizzlies pulled out a tight 25-23 win in the opening set, but the Panthers answered by taking the next three, 25-21, 25-14, and 25-16.
Tessa Burnett led North Woods with nine kills, while Kruse and Glass each had six. T. Burnett and Glass both collected 18 digs, and C. Burnett finished with 35 assists.
The pace slows down now a bit for the 8-6 Grizzlies, with their next match coming against Cherry next Tuesday at home.