The Muskie senior boys’ volleyball team was swept by the host Dryden Eagles in NorWOSSA action last Thursday. losing the best-of-five match by scores of 25-17, 25-20, and 25-14.
Head coach John Gibson said the “boys started out playing well” but once Dryden began jump serving, they “struggled to get attacks off the serves.”
This led to a seven-point run that the black-and-gold could not overcome.
The senior squad then took part in a tournament last Friday and Saturday in Dryden.
After opening with a 2-1 win over Dryden’s junior squad, the Muskies went on to lose to both St. Ignatius (Thunder Bay) and St. Thomas Aquinas (Kenora) in the round-robin.
Saturday then led to another playoff disappointment for the senior boys.
Gibson said his squad come out “firing in the first set,” taking an early lead and winning 25-16.”
But the Eagles pulled out the second set 26-25, then showed why they were the tournament favourite by winning the third-and-deciding set 15-10.
Meanwhile, the Muskie junior boys’ volleyball team had a disappointing match last Thursday in Dryden, also dropping all three sets to the Eagles by scores of 26-24, 25-21, and 25-18.
Head coach Greg Ste. Croix said his team “didn’t make plays when the game was on the line.” He also noted the “intensity level wasn’t high enough.”
Although the passing was good, “too many balls went out of bound,” he recalled, adding the boys didn’t use the “free balls effectively.”
In girls’ basketball action last Thursday in Dryden, the Muskie juniors lacked a united front en route to a 39-22 loss.
Head coach Dan Bird spoke of the girls regressing instead of progressing in the achievement of play, though some showed minor improvements, like Rachel Dutton’s defence and Kayla Windego, who scored 10 points.
Bird said he hoped his squad will improve and progress over the next two weeks to the level it is capable of achieving.
Finally, the Muskie senior team played a hard-fought game last Thursday against a tough Dryden Eagles squad but lost 47-41 in overtime.
“They played very well,” head coach Ian Simpson said of his team, noting they played good defence but were undone by a shooting slump.
He intends to concentrate on shooting drills in the next few practices.
Simpson also praised the opposing Eagles, saying they played a good game and made the most of their opportunities.
“They made three-pointers when they had to and made 80 percent of their free throws, as well,” he remarked.
