Lucas Punkari
Following season-opening losses to the host Dryden Eagles two weeks ago, the Muskie senior and junior boys’ volleyball teams were hoping a visit by the Kenora Broncos to their home court would prove to be the perfect way to get back on the right track.
And at the conclusion of their meetings last Tuesday afternoon here, both squads were victorious to improve to 1-1 on the young NorWOSSA season.
The seniors picked up their win in four sets over the Broncos (25-13, 22-25, 25-22, and 25-14) while the juniors swept aside their opponents in straight sets (25-19, 25-23, and 25-23).
The coaches for both teams were quite pleased with how things went.
“It was our first time against Kenora all year and we were able to beat them, so that was pretty awesome,” enthused senior boys’ head coach Alison Hyatt.
“We played the game exactly how we liked to play, and that is by starting strong and continuing to play that way right to the end of the game, which we did a lot better than we did in Dryden,” she added.
“Even though we swept them on the scoreboard, it ended up being three really close sets,” noted junior coach John Gibson.
“We had a really slow start in the first set but we were able to come back from that,” he recalled.
“Then in the second set, we got ahead and let them close in a little bit, and in the third set it was back-and-forth throughout.
“At times out there, I thought we looked great and it was nice to see that from the guys,” Gibson added.
The senior and junior spikers were back in action yesterday in Dryden (results weren’t available by press time), then will host the Broncos again tomorrow.
On the junior side, Gibson said while there are a number of similarities in the systems Kenora and Dryden use, there is one big difference with the Eagles that the black-and-gold have been preparing to face during recent practices.
“Dryden has a strong left-sided hitter that has given us the most difficulty thus far in our meetings with them,” he explained.
“As a result of that, our defence has been working this week in practice on their hits so that they are better prepared to get the ball back up.”
It’s an entirely different situation tough in the senior loop. Hyatt was quick to point out the Eagles and the Broncos are vastly different teams.
“We have to play a different style of game against both teams because they vary so much,” she said.
“Kenora is very scrappy on defence and they have one big hitter that we can key on while Dryden [is] a very good offensive team and instead of shutting down just one guy out there, there is a whole bunch of guys that you have to try and stop,” she stressed.
Although the season is still young, the seniors feel things are starting to come together, especially after finishing third at a pre-season tournament in Kenora.
“A 1-1 record doesn’t sound all that great, but I think our season is going a lot better as it sounds,” Gavin Moorhouse said.
“The tournament, I think, helped us a lot into getting the season started out on the right track, and I think at the end of the year we will have a better overall record than what we have right now,” he predicted.
For this week’s games, both coaches have a few different goals they have in mind for what they want their players to accomplish.
“In Dryden, I would like to see us play strong from the beginning to the end and show them what we can bring, and I expect to see more on Thursday here against Kenora,” Hyatt said.
“On Thursday, some of our newcomers will have some more playing time, as well, but we also can’t let Kenora take anything from us,” she stressed.
“It’ll be a fast week for us, but it’s going to be lots of fun and we are looking forward to it,” noted Gibson.
“Hopefully we can put everything together against Dryden,” he added.
“But the more important thing for us is to keep on developing so that by the end of the year, we will be a very strong side.”
