FIELD TWP- The North Woods volleyball team hosted Mt. Iron-Buhl for a second-round match in the 7A Sectional tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 26, and the Grizzlies picked up their final win of the season by defeating the Rangers 3-0.
As the fourth and fifth-seeded teams on the 7A North side of the bracket, it was the first time both teams were on the court for tournament play.
North Woods opened up a 14-9 advantage midway through the first set, but the Rangers closed to within 20-18 before the Grizzlies went on a 5-2 run to close out a 25-20 win on a slam by Hannah Kinsey.
The Grizzlies appeared to be in complete disarray in the early going of the second set, squandering a 4-0 start as MI-B bolted to a seemingly commanding 12-5 lead. But with Skyler Yernatich providing a spark with two kills and a service ace, the Grizzlies slowly clawed back into contention, tying the match at 13-13. A kill by Lauren Burnett put the Grizzlies on top for good at 15-14, and North Woods cruised from there, winning 25-17.
The Grizzlies led by as many as nine points in the third set before the Rangers rallied back to within three, but MI-B’s comeback bid fell short as North Woods closed out the set and match with a 25-21 win.
A highlight of the match came midway through the third set when the North Woods student section began chanting loudly “We want Cooper,” an enthusiastic plea that was granted by Head Coach Kandi Olson when she inserted senior Cooper Antikainen into the game with the Grizzlies up 20-11. Playing sparingly during the regular season, Antikainen made the most of her last home appearance in a Grizzlies jersey with consistent hitting at the net and strong overall play. Antikainen delivered a wicked hit that was awkwardly returned far out of bounds for a Grizzlies’ score, eliciting more loud cheers from teammates and fellow students.
“She did fantastic,” Olson said. “You can tell that she’s been practicing hard and improving so much throughout the season and it showed at the end of this game.”
North Woods advanced to an unenviable third-round match against the undefeated Ely Timberwolves two days later, and while the high-energy Grizzlies gave the Wolves all they could handle, their season came to an end with a 3-0 loss to the Wolves. A full match report can be found elsewhere on the Timberjay sports page. North Woods finished the season with a record of 15-10 and ranked 58th out of 157 teams in Class A by the Minnesota-Scores.net Quality Rating Formula.