ELY— It was the regular season debut for both Ely and Northeast Range, but there was no sign of opening night jitters as both teams put up impressive stats in a hard-fought contest that left Ely up three-games-to-one under new head coach Megan Wognum.
“We had multiple players contribute to the game,” said Wognum. “It was nice to see everyone playing an important role in the win tonight.”
Ely took the opening set 25-18, but the Nighthawks rebounded for a 25-21 win in the second frame to even the score. The Wolves just edged Northeast Range in the third set, 25-23, before tallying a more convincing 25-19 win to clinch the match.
Kellen Thomas led the offense for Ely, with 11 kills and three blocks, while also notching 12 digs on defense. Kate Coughlin tallied ten kills and seven digs, while Madeline Kallberg added nine kills and three blocks. Rachel Coughlin notched seven kills, six blocks, and 12 digs, while setter Katrina Seliskar added 46 assists, six digs and three ace serves. “We’ve been working on our hitter coverage over the past couple of weeks,” said Wognum. “We did a great job putting that all together and executing tonight. Our blocks were also key! They were the fuel to our fire on the court.”
For the Nighthawks, it was the Hannah Reichensperger show once again, as the lanky senior put up 23 kills, 17 digs, and four blocks. Reichensperger, long a volleyball standout, has already committed to play volleyball for Illinois State next year. But the Nighthawks have more depth than just Reichensperger. Setter Maizy Sunblad picked up where she left off last season, adding 11 digs to her 29 assists. Natalie Nelmark added eight kills.