When the Muskie senior girls’ volleyball team puts together all aspects of their game–showcasing their hitting, passing, and blocking talents–they can be very tough to beat.
They proved that at a 10-team tournament in Dryden last weekend, winning the championship crown with a 25-20/25-20 victory over the Hillcrest Colts (Thunder Bay) in the best-of-three final.
“The girls played really, really well,” head coach Rick Wiedenhoeft enthused. “We just played our game, and we seem to be getting better at attacking from the power position.”
Wiedenhoeft said Chrissie Thomson, Kelly Crawford, and Sarah Vanderplaats all had solid weekends hitting the ball while setter Laureen Cousineau played well dishing off the ball to several different players on the court.
But Wiedenhoeft noted they also played well defensively. “They dug up a lot,” he said. “They didn’t let much of anything hit the floor.”
The Muskies reached the final after sweeping Beaver Brae (Kenora) 25-13/25-19 in one semi-final matchup. Hillcrest downed Red Lake in the other.
But the Muskies opened a lot of eyes during the round-robin, finishing in first place after winning 23 of 27 possible sets. And they did that despite giving equal playing time to their starters and bench players.
It was about as close to a perfect weekend as you could get, especially with the NorWOSSA playoffs coming up here next week.
“Yeah, we’re really starting to come together as a team. Everyone is helping each other out and there’s camaraderie,” said Wiedenhoeft.
“We never stress the importance of winning the big game early in the season . . . we want to put it together for NorWOSSA,” he stressed.
“We’re starting to peak,” he remarked.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
