Joey Payeur
On a Hallowe’en afternoon, the Muskie senior boys’ volleyball team tried a new trick—an increased work ethic.
That decision allowed the black-and-gold to finally treat themselves to a long-awaited win.
The Muskies (1-7) closed out the NorWOSSA regular season here yesterday by capturing their first win with a 3-1 victory in their best-of-five showdown with the Kenora Broncos (3-5).
“We’re finally starting to put in some effort,” noted assistant coach Will Anderson, who ran the Muskies’ bench successfully in the absence of head coach Jason Jones.
“We definitely do have the talent to beat the other teams [in NorWOSSA],” he added.
“We turned the corner today.”
Fort High took the first two sets (scores were unavailable by press time), then dropped a close third one 25-23.
But instead of panicking, as might have been expected by a team that had only one set victory the entire season going into play yesterday, the Muskies put the hammer down and claimed the fourth set 25-23 to give them hope heading into the NorWOSSA playoffs next Friday (Nov. 8) in Dryden.
Veteran starting setter Derek Kaemingh, who has been out of action for most of the season after having his appendix removed, returned yesterday and provided his teammates with plenty of inspiration.
“It’s pretty big to have Derek back, especially when two of our setters are away in Toronto,” noted Anderson, whose team will have a rematch with Kenora in the NorWOSSA semi-final next Friday.
The winner then will meet the first-place Eagles for the gold medal and a berth at NWOSSAA.
“Derek’s one of our best players,” Anderson said. “The guys rallied around him today.”
In junior boys’ action, the Muskies (4-4) capitalized on the fact the Broncos (0-8) were missing four players due to their participation in a WHSFL semi-final game in Winnipeg to sweep the visitors 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, and 26-24).
These two squads also will meet in the NorWOSSA semi-final next Friday in Dryden, with the winner advancing to meet the first-place Eagles for gold.
In senior girls’ basketball action yesterday, the Muskies (8-0) established themselves as the clear favourites to capture gold in Dryden by routing Kenora (3-5) to the tune of 45-11.
Sarah Bagacki paced Fort High with 12 points before fouling out late in the game.
Cassandra Moffitt chipped in with 11 while Celia Berry netted seven.
“An undefeated season was one of our three goals,” said veteran Muskie forward Keira Lindgren, one of five seniors who presented roses to parents or close friends in a pre-game ceremony.
“Now we want to win NorWOSSA and then NWOSSAA,” she added.
The junior girls Muskies (8-0) mirrored their senior counterparts’ path to perfection yesterday, but with much more difficulty.
The visiting Broncos (0-8) whittled away at a 10-point halftime deficit to trail only 27-24 at the end of the third quarter in their best effort of the season.
But Fort High went back to a full-court pressure defence, which created a rash of Bronco turnovers that led to a 15-2 advantage in the fourth to nail down a 42-26 victory.
Ashley Croswell led the Muskies with 14 points while Claire Hyatt added 13, including a clutch three-pointer and then a 15-foot jumper to kickstart the final-quarter surge.
“I was more pleased with the fact we stopped them from scoring in the fourth than for the fact we scored 42,” noted Muskie co-coach Marla Knutsen.
“We had a tough shooting game, except for Ashley, who was on fire, and Claire,” she added.
“Everybody else had a real hard time.”
The junior and senior girls’ hoops teams will warm up for the NorWOSSA playoffs with exhibition matches against the Rainy River Owls this Monday at Fort High.
The juniors tip off at 4:15 p.m., with the seniors to follow immediately afterwards.
