AURORA — Often lost in the Ely Timberwolves dominance of regional Class A volleyball in recent years has been another essential component of the team’s DNA, an ability to dig deep to find the will to win when the odds are stacked against them. Nowhere was that quality more evident than last Thursday at Aurora against Mesabi East.
Five days earlier, the Wolves had beaten Mesabi East 2-1 in a tournament at Greenway, and the Giants were looking for revenge backed by a raucous home crowd. Ely had little problem taking the first set, but the Giants came out on fire in the second, forging a 16-6 lead.
Trailing 15-19, Lydia Shultz took the serve for the Wolves, and with a pair of aces and two kills by Sadie Rechichi, Ely had come back to tie the set. But the Giants refused to yield, holding on for a 25-23 win to even the match.
The Wolves trailed midway through the third set, but Charlotte Hegman scored on a well-placed bump and then teamed with Amelia Penke for a big block to take a 19-18 lead. But the Giants responded again with a 7-3 run to close out a 25-22 win.
Trailing by a set against a confident Giants team, the Wolves knew they had to get off to a better start in the fourth set, and they did, keeping the score even at 7-7. A Giants’ miscue and a Makenzi Huntington slam put Ely up 9-7, and the Wolves never looked back. A strong turn at serve by Peyton Huntington paired with some Mesabi East errors and Ely kills, including one by Ruby Lowe, staked the Wolves to a 21-11 lead as they cruised to a 25-15 win to tie the match.
In the fifth and deciding set, there was little doubt the Wolves had their swagger back, even though the teams were tied through 5-5. A service fault by the Giants was followed by a stuff at the net by Shultz, and the Wolves had the edge and momentum they needed at 7-5. The Giants had no answer as the Wolves controlled the set the rest of the way, winning 15-7 to take the match 3-2.
Seven Wovles put down kills, with Rechichi topping the group with 13. Eight players got into the action with digs, including Shultz with 17 and Hegman with 16. Gretta Lowe and Makenzi Huntington tied for high honors in set assists with 19 each.

International Falls
Ely had to dig deep again on Tuesday night, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to edge International Falls in a five-set home match. After splitting the first two sets, the Broncos surged late to take a tight third, 25-23, putting the Wolves in peril.
But Ely answered with a dominant 25-14 win in the fourth to even the contest, then finished the job in the decisive fifth, 15-11, to secure the 3-2 victory.