Joey Payeur
It was like someone getting the gift they really wanted for their birthday—then finding out the person who gave it to them had shoplifted the item.
Duane Roen wasn’t about to turn down the first win of the NorWOSSA season for his Muskie senior girls’ volleyball team (1-3)—a 3-2 triumph over the visiting Kenora Broncos on Tuesday.
But he also wasn’t planning any victory parade routes, either.
“Sure, I like winning, but not that way,” Roen said about his team’s inconsistent and, at times, sloppy play against the Broncos.
“If we play like that against Dryden, they’re going to eat us alive,” he warned.
Roen was pleased with what he saw in the first two sets, which the Muskies won 25-20 and 25-22, but became irritated as Kenora clawed its way back into the match by winning the next two sets 25-23 and 26-24 to force a fifth and deciding one.
The fifth set was the Broncos’ for the taking, as they led 14-11 and faced match point. But Fort High dug down deep when it had to and won six of the next seven points to put the nail in the coffin with a 17-15 nail-biter.
In junior girls’ volleyball action Tuesday, the Muskies had to battle the whole way before prevailing 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 28-30, and 25-23) against Kenora.
“We started off pretty strong and had some pretty good serving in the first set,” noted coach Jason Cain, whose squad won its third-straight NorWOSSA match to move into first place alone ahead of Kenora (2-2) with a 3-1 mark.
“The second set was rough. . . the third set seemed like it was never going to end,” he added.
In basketball action, meanwhile, the Muskie senior boys made short work of Kenora en route to a 69-38 victory to improve to 4-0 in league play.
Justin Anderson and Josh Strain led the way with game-high 15 points. Caleb McIntosh added 14, and Chris Legg chipping in 10.
The Muskie junior boys, however, still are searching for their first win after a tough 35-25 loss to Kenora here Tuesday (the top scorers were unavailable).
The black-and-gold had led 20-17 after two quarters.
“The halftime took all the wind out of our sails,” said coach Greg Ste. Croix. “We had a terrific first half, with everything clicking.
“[But] we only had five points in the second half, all in the fourth quarter.
“We just went cold in everything. We had lots of turnovers,” he noted.
All four Muskie squad are now finished with NorWOSSA action until Feb. 1, when they take on the Dryden Eagles.
But that doesn’t mean all will stash their court shoes somewhere for a few weeks.
The senior boys heads to Thunder Bay this weekend for a tournament where they already have a first-round bye.
Rather, the Muskies will open play tomorrow afternoon to face the winner of the game between the Westgate Tigers and Hammarskjold Vikings
Meanwhile, the junior girls also are heading to Thunder Bay for a weekend tournament.
