FIELD TWP — North Woods volleyball fans celebrated Senior Night on Tuesday by watching the Grizzlies demolish Bigfork 25-7, 25-10, and 25-7.
Senior Night is usually a late-season affair, but with an October schedule heavy on away games, Tuesday was as good a day as any, and there was a bit of extra incentive involved with this match. The Huskies knocked the Grizzlies out of last year’s 7A sectional tournament in the second round in a hard-fought and disappointing end to the season, so Tuesday was payback time.
North Woods was firing on all cylinders against a Bigfork squad that bore little resemblance to last year’s Huskies team, and the Grizzlies took full advantage. North Woods opened with a lineup that included seniors Lauren Burnett, Brittin Lappi, Izzy Pascuzzi, Brynn Chosa, and Mya Goggleye, who got her first start for the Grizzlies. Along with junior Ella Kruse, the combo took charge immediately and kept right on rolling as North Woods settled into its regular player rotation. Pascuzzi got a kill to make the score 11-3 and then stepped to the service line to spark a five-point run. Burnett served out the 25-7 win with three consecutive aces.
Blocks for the Grizzlies were few and far between as the Huskies labored under a flood of unforced errors. But those errors happened as a result of razor-sharp serves, big kills, and smartly placed bumps by North Woods. The Grizzlies streaked to leads of 11-2 and 16-3 in the second set before Bigfork got a few solid hits in toward the end of the 25-10 Grizzlies’ win.
The bench and crowd were at their loudest when reserve Goggleye re-entered the match and scored the first point of the third set. Lappi followed that with a service run that included three consecutive aces as North Woods took a 7-1 lead.
The Huskies had trouble all night long with the Grizzlies’ service game, and Lappi put a punctuation point on that with yet another ace to close out the 25-7 set for the match win.
North Woods Head Coach Kaileen Redmond had high praise for her seniors after the match.
“I’ve been with these kids the whole time that I’ve been in this program, and it’s been amazing to see them grow as players and watch them develop into who they’ve become, not only just as players, but as people in general,” Redmond said. “I see them out in the community and I see them working on their grades and see them pursuing their college careers now. A lot of them are taking those college courses now, and they’re working on a future for themselves. I feel like they’re my own kids. I’ve gotten to see them grow up quite a bit in the last seven years that I’ve been here.”
And Redmond had special words for Goggleye, who doesn’t see much playing time but has wholeheartedly accepted her role on the team.
“It was a tough conversation at the beginning of the season to have with her, but I think she kind of knew going into it. She was just excited to be a varsity player. I love having her here – it’s been awesome. She takes on that role and plays it really, really well.”

International Falls
North Woods went on the road last Thursday to International Falls and prevailed in the tough matchup in three sets, 25-16, 25-18, and 25-21.
Pascuzzi and Lappi led the team in kills with 11 each, and Lauren Burnett collected 10. Chosa tallied 20 set assists and Carsyn Burnett picked up 15 assists in the win.
North Woods has not lost a set in its first three matches.
The Grizzlies were scheduled to be on the road at Mesabi East on Thursday before returning home for matches against Deer River on Monday and South Ridge on Tuesday.