North Woods wins five of six

FIELD TWP- The North Woods volleyball team got back on track at the right time, shaking off a pair of losses to state-ranked opponents with five wins in six matches over a four-day stretch.
The Grizzlies started the run Saturday at the Mesabi East tournament, where they dropped their opener to Two Harbors 25-22, 25-17, then won their next three matches. North Woods swept Bigfork 25-15, 25-15, then rallied for three-set wins over Mt. Iron-Buhl and International Falls.
The Grizzlies dropped the first set against MIB before coming back for a 15-25, 25-22, 15-10 win. They followed the same pattern against International Falls, rebounding from a slow start to win 15-25, 25-20, 15-10.
“Saturday was a good opportunity for us to get back on track and regain some confidence after a couple of tough matches,” Head Coach Kaileen Redmond said.
Carsyn Burnett paced the offense throughout the tournament with 83 set assists, 16 digs, and five kills. Tessa Burnett had 15 kills, 28 digs, and five ace serves, while Laurin Glass added 13 kills, 14 digs, and seven aces. LaNara Guenther had 13 kills and six blocks, and Ella Kruse added 15 digs and two aces.
North Woods carried that momentum into Monday, pulling out a five-set road win at Nashwauk-Keewatin. The Grizzlies fell behind twice, but came back to win 16-25, 25-15, 15-25, 25-22, 15-8.
Guenther led the attack with 14 kills, while Glass added 11 kills, 18 digs, and three ace serves. Michaela Brunner had eight kills and 11 digs, and Carsyn Burnett finished with 45 set assists, 14 digs, seven kills, two aces, and two blocks.
The Grizzlies had to go the distance again Tuesday against Floodwood, and again found a way to close. North Woods won the first two sets 25-16, 27-25, then dropped the next two 18-25, 24-26 before taking the deciding set 17-15.
Guenther had 11 kills and two blocks against Floodwood, while Brunner added 10 kills and 15 digs. Glass had seven kills, 15 digs, and four ace serves, Tessa Burnett served five aces, Kruse had 10 digs, and Carsyn Burnett finished with 37 set assists and two blocks.
Redmond said the Grizzlies are trying to sharpen the mental side of their game as the regular season winds down and sections approach.
“We’ve been challenging the girls to play with more urgency, take ownership of their performance, and develop that competitive mindset that’s so important this time of year,” Redmond said. “The physical skills are there, but it’s about bringing the energy, confidence, and determination to execute when it matters most.”
Redmond said she remains hopeful that the Grizzlies can turn the late-season stretch into a postseason push.
“I’m cautiously optimistic heading into postseason play,” she said. “We’ve seen what this team can do when they’re firing on all cylinders, and I believe we have the ability to compete. But at this point, it’s going to come down to which version of our team shows up on any given night.”
The Grizzlies still have time to build momentum before the Section 7A tournament begins.
“We still have some volleyball left to play,” Redmond said, “and I’m hopeful we can use these final matches to build momentum and head into sections playing our best volleyball.”