Lucas Punkari
After the first two sets against the Kenora Broncos here last Thursday afternoon, it looked as if the Muskie senior boys’ volleyball team was going to be wiped off their home floor and fall to 1-3 in NorWOSSA play.
Instead, the black-and-gold did exactly the opposite.
They roared back over the final three sets—winning 26-24, 25-22, and 17-15—to take the best-of-five match and even their league record at 2-2.
“The first two sets were a little bit rough at times and it looked like, at times, that I was watching a different team play out there as our passing wasn’t up to the caliber that we normally play at,” noted Muskie head coach Allison Hyatt.
“Then something happened in that third [set] as we dug [in] our heels, gained a little bit of momentum, and fought our way back—and the exact same thing happened in the fourth [set],” she added.
“By the time the fifth [set] came around, the guys didn’t want to lose after coming all the way back and they were able to come away with the win.”
“We hadn’t practised in a couple of days so I think we were a little bit cold there at the start,” explained Will Anderson.
“We weren’t talking out there during the first two sets, and I think we were all just really mad about losing the first two sets.
“And we also really wanted to win so we just tried to build on that feeling as the [match] progressed,” he reasoned.
Anderson was one of the key components in the Muskies’ comeback, making a number of huge smashes and massive blocks during the final three sets.
“I think that helped out our cause a lot,” Anderson agreed.
“Blocking is basically what I do best, as it’s really all that I can do,” he laughed.
“I’ve been very impressed with Will’s play so far this year,” Hyatt added.
“He’s quite a tall kid so we moved him from the middle role that he played in juniors to more of a role up front, and he’s been thriving thus far as he’s been hitting very well and shutting down the other big hitters,” she remarked.
The dramatic win over the Broncos also helped to take away some of the sting of a four-set loss (22-25, 25-18, 23-25, and 13-25) to perennial NorWOSSA powerhouse Dryden there Tuesday.
“We played excellent in the first three [sets] against Dryden as we definitely played our game and had some first-year seniors that were playing very well,” Hyatt recalled.
“Then in that fourth [set], it was like a different team stepped onto the court as our passing, our offence, and our defence weren’t there at all and we didn’t play the way that we normally do or are capable of.”
Juniors lose
While the seniors were celebrating their victory over the Broncos last Thursday, the junior squad found themselves with nothing to show in the win column following their two matches last week, which dropped their NorWOSSA record to 1-3.
After being swept 19-25, 4-25, and 12-25 by Dryden on Tuesday, the black-and-gold took the Broncos the distance here Thursday but ended up falling in five sets (20-25, 25-18, 12-25, 25-13, and 15-17).
“Against Dryden we had our worst match of the year,” said junior head coach John Gibson. “But the guys were able to shake that off and played a better game against Kenora.
“I’m still not entirely happy with where we are at the moment, though, as we saw a lot of mistakes still in the [match] against Kenora and the overall tempo of the game was very slow,” he admitted.
“Still, though, I thought we were much better positionally and that we played a much cleaner game than we did on Tuesday in Dryden, and I think that was seen in how the games went.”
Both volleyball teams don’t resume NorWOSSA action until next Wednesday (Oct. 19) when they visit Kenora, although the senior spikers will at a tournament in Dryden this coming weekend.
