FIELD TWP- It was a mixed bag for the North Woods volleyball team this past week as the Grizzlies went 2-2 at a tournament at Mesabi East on Saturday and picked up a convincing 3-0 road win at Nashwauk-Keewatin on Monday.
Prior to a tournament at Rock Ridge earlier this season, North Woods Head Coach Kaileen Redmond noted that her team was “notorious for having slow starts first thing in the morning,” and the Chisholm Bluestreaks turned that to their advantage in the first match of the day at Mesabi East, breezing to a 25-16 win in the first game. The Grizzlies roared back in a torrid second game that went to extra points, but riding the momentum of their opening victory the Bluestreaks eeked out a 29-27 win to take the match 2-0.
After sitting out the next round, North Woods righted the ship in a lunctime matchup against Northeast Range. Getting strong play from their front line, the Grizzlies closed out a first game 25-17 win on a Mya Kinsey kill. The Nighthawks would not go down quietly in the second, taking an early 9-6 lead, but North Woods drew even at 10-10 on a block by Amber Sopoci. A pair of Else Bee kills sandwiched around a North Woods error put NER back ahead 14-13, and the game was neck and neck from there. A kill by NER’s Kaydence Hancock and a North Woods error gave the Nighthawks their last lead of the game at 19-18. But another block by Sopoci and an Izzy Pascuzzi kill put the Grizzlies in front 22-20, and they held on for the 25-23 win and the match victory.
A chance for revenge awaited in the next round as North Woods took on Ely, a team they lost to just four days earlier. In a repeat of the first game on Tuesday, the Wolves won Saturday’s first game handily by the same 25-13 score. And it was almost déjà vu in the second game, as North Woods regained their footing to force a deciding third game with a 25-21 win, just one point better than on Tuesday.
Ely’s Lilli Rechichi and North Woods’ Lauren Burnett traded kills to open the finale, but a pair of Rechichi service aces staked the Wolves to a 6-2 lead. North Woods would get back to within one at 10-9 on a Burnett kill, but the Grizzlies couldn’t find the range from there as Ely went on to claim a 15-10 win.
Finishing 1-2 in pool play, the Grizzlies drew host Mesabi East for the consolation round, and the Giants gave North Woods all they could handle. Fueled by a raucous home crowd, the Giants pushed the Grizzlies hard in the two game match, with North Woods winning the first 25-23 and surviving a sizzling finale 28-26.
Nashwauk-Keewatin
After going 2-2 in the tourney, the Grizzlies had something to prove on Monday when they hit the road for a match against Nashwauk-Keewatin, and they unleashed their full fury against an overmatched Spartans squad. Avoiding the pitfall of playing down to their opponent, a sharp-looking Grizzlies squad steamrolled their way past the Spartans 25-10, 25-7, and 25-13.
The Grizzlies were scheduled to have a week off before their final regular season match on Monday, a home contest against the 1-18 Fond du Lac Ojibwe. North Woods will then await their assignment for the Section 7A tournament which begins on Oct. 21.