Staff
The Muskie senior boys’ volleyball team just sent the Dryden Eagles a message—in bright neon.
It reads: This year will not be another walk in the park.
Fort High (1-0) upended the defending champion Eagles (0-1) by a 3-1 count (25-21, 25-27, 25-23, and 25-14) in the NorWOSSA regular-season opener for both teams here Tuesday.
The win means the Muskies already have matched their win total of last season (1-7) while also serving notice that Dryden’s lengthy string of league titles may be in jeopardy.
“The boys played very well,” said new Muskie head coach Kirsten Talsma, who notched her first victory since taking over the job earlier this month after moving to Fort Frances from Parry Sound.
“They knew exactly what Dryden was going to be like as we had played them on the weekend,” she noted.
“The boys knew who their key players were so we set up our defence accordingly.
“They communicated well and we had a much better connection with our middle hitters than we had in the past,” added Talsma.
Another rookie coach, Marcel Pagee, didn’t fare as well in his inaugural opportunity as his Muskie junior boys’ volleyball squad fell 3-1 (25-19, 25-27, 25-23, and 25-14) to the visiting Eagles.
“Considering these boys have been on the court maybe five times, with four of them being on a tryout, this is new to all but one returning player,” Pagee said.
“I felt our lack of court time showed,” he noted.
In girls’ hoops action, meanwhile, the senior Muskies began defence of their NorWOSSA crown in dominating fashion here Tuesday with a 38-22 victory over Dryden.
The Muskies had a stiffer challenge than what they faced in whipping the Eagles 49-7 at Dryden’s home tournament last weekend, as the locals only led 19-10 at halftime.
Cassandra Moffitt pace Fort High’s attack with a game-high 12 points while Amber Williams added eight.
Sierra Cousineau chipped in five, including one of two three-pointers by the Muskies in the fourth quarter to help seal the win.
But an inexperienced Muskie junior squad was overwhelmed by a veteran crew of Eagles as Dryden romped to a 45-13 win.
With only three returnees from last year’s NorWOSSA champs, Fort High had trouble containing an Eagles’ group that featured eight second-year players.
Sarah Vandermeer drained a team-high nine points for the Muskies, who only made five shots from the floor all game.
Abby Sanders and Alyssa Clendenning added two apiece.
All four court teams were in Kenora today to face the Broncos.
Their next home action is set for Tuesday, Oct. 7 against those same Broncos.
