HERMANTOWN- The top-seeded Ely Timberwolves cashed their third consecutive ticket to the Class A state championship volleyball tourney on Saturday with a 3-0 win over upstart No. 3-seed Bigfork.
The Wolves overpowered South Ridge 3-0 to reach the final match, their third straight-set win of the tourney, while Bigfork upset higher-seeded Floodwood to get to the Hermantwon High School finale.
With strong play at the net from Lilli Rechichi and Audrey Kallberg the Wolves moved out to a 9-6 lead in the first game, and with Clare Thomas nailing a pair of service aces Ely extended their lead to 13-6 and looked to be comfortably in control. But Bigfork had no intention of going away meekly, getting to within four at 15-11 on a block at the net. With the Huskies’ McKinnley Johnson at serve, Bigfork then reeled off a stunning eight-point run to turn the tables on the suddenly rattled Wolves to go up 20-15. A Rechichi tap for a score broke the string and Sadie Rechichi got the Wolves back in sync with a pair of aces. Ely pulled even at 22 on a Bigfork error and took a 24-22 lead on a kill by Kallberg and an ace by Peyton Huntington. The score was knotted again at 25-25 when Ely got kills by Charlotte Hegman and Kallberg to secure the come-from-behind 27-25 win.
Carrying momentum into the second game, the Wolves dominated the early going, racing out to a 15-6 advantage. The Huskies chipped their way back into the game at 17-14, but kills by Thomas and Kallberg squelched the comeback attempt as Ely cruised to a 25-15 win and a 2-0 advantage.
Fighting for their tournament lives, the Huskies kept things close in the third, with the game tied six times through 15-15. But two quick scores by Lilli Rechichi ignited a 10-3 run that propelled Ely to the state tourney berth with a 25-18 win.
It was the ninth consecutive match the Wolves had won in straight sets, and Ely Head Coach Megan Wognum was pleased with how her team rallied to win the match.
“We struggled in the first set to find our rhythm,” Wognum said. “We were making some silly mistakes. We needed to close our blocks and we needed to press a little more so we didn’t have to pick up the sloppy things coming off our block. We were able to turn that around quicky, though, in the second set and the third set and finish things a little stronger on our side.”
Setter Gretta Lowe had a strong match, particularly when it came to setting up Kallberg’s big blows in the middle.
“Audrey and Greta have played all season together and they click really well,” Wognum said. “They’ve got really good rhythm when they’re in sync. The key to that, though, is a good pass, and thankfully our team was able to step that up and have a solid pass for our setter to complete the set for our hitters.”
Wognum said she expects her veteran players with state tourney experience to be steadying influences on the Wolves’ rookies.
“We’ve got some who are really nervous that are new, a few players on the floor that haven’t played before at state,” Wognum said. “Otherwise, our seniors are pretty solid, and we’ve got some juniors who have played a little bit. So, we’ve got some with some nerves, some that are just ready to go, and hopefully they can balance each other out and just get ready to play.”
Wognum said the team will be relying on its two senior mainstays, Clare Thomas and Class A all-state player Lilli Rechichi, for a solid run at state.
“The two of them are phenomenal – they can make a mistake and just find a way to fix it, and they find a way to be strategic with every ball,” Wognum said. “It really is an amazing thing to watch. I’m excited to see them play at state, but I am very sad to see them going after that. It’s going to be hard to fill those spots.”
The Wolves drew the No. 7 seed and a matchup against the second-seeded Minneota Vikings, 22-11, in the first round of the state tourney, which was scheduled for Thursday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Minneota’s record is deceptive, as they played nine Class AAAA foes, going 2-7 against the larger schools. Minneota scored a 2-0 victory over the Wolves on Sept. 20 in the Midwest Volleyball Warehouse Showcase tournament, 25-16, 25-20.