Joey Payeur
The NorWOSSA season for the Muskie court teams began Tuesday with plenty of boffo basketball and a variety of vanquished volleyballers.
The senior girls’ hoops squad blasted the visiting Dryden Eagles 51-26—using a big early lead to douse the Eagles’ hopes in short order.
“We talked before the game about getting off to a good start,” said Fort High co-coach Dan Bird.
“We hadn’t had a good start yet in six exhibition games,” he noted.
“Once we had the good start, it made a big difference.
“Getting control early is important for our team,” Bird stressed. “It helps build our confidence early in the game.”
Sarah Bagacki led the Muskies (1-0) with 14 points and earned praise from Bird for her all-around effort against Dryden (0-1).
“‘Bags’ led us on the floor like we want her to, both offensively and defensively,” he said of the Grade 12 forward.
Keira Lindgren chipped in with 12 points while Cassandra Moffitt made it three Muskies in double digits with her 10-point outing.
“I think Keira was great on the offensive boards,” Bird lauded about the Grade 12 centre’s domination of the glass in Dryden’s end.
“I think she had eight points in the first quarter—all coming off of her own offensive rebounds.
“With Celia Berry out [ankle injury], Cassandra did a good job as the starting point guard for us today,” Bird added.
The junior girls, meanwhile, also took the suspense out of their contest before halftime—running up a 24-8 lead en route to an easy 42-20 victory.
Claire Hyatt sparked the Muskies (1-0) with a game-high 19 points.
Lindsay Dixon contributed nine while Ashley Croswell netted seven against the Eagles (0-1).
The Muskie boys’ volleyball story did not have the same happy ending, however, as both the senior and junior squads fell to Dryden.
The juniors (0-1) put up a good fight but dropped the best-of-five match 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-9, and 25-18) to the perennial-powerhouse Eagles (1-0).
“We did good but it’s junior boys’ volleyball, which means it’s real streaky at times,” noted Fort High coach John Gibson.
“We got up early and let it go in the first set,” he recalled.
“Then we got up in the second and held on because the boys were having fun and enjoying it, playing more relaxed.
“The third set was just ugly,” Gibson admitted. “But the fourth, we were right there.
“We just dropped a couple of points in a row in the middle, but we still picked it back up at the end.”
Gibson was pleased with the improvement his team has made in a short time.
“Everyone saw some court time and we were much more polished than we were on the weekend,” Gibson said, referring to the team’s performance at a pre-season tourney in Kenora (not Thunder Bay as reported in yesterday’s Times).
“The Kenora games paid off,” he remarked. “Now we can start working on our systems.”
The senior Muskies (0-1), meanwhile, received a rough ride at the hands of Dryden (1-0), who cruised to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-14) triumph.
All four teams are in Kenora today to take on the Broncos.
The black-and-gold’s next regular-season home action goes Oct. 8 against Kenora, with play beginning at noon.
