Muskies take three for four

The coaches of the Muskie court squads lead NorWOSSA in two categories this morning: stress lines on their foreheads and smiles on their faces.
TSN wasn’t in the building, but it was made-for-television excitement yesterday afternoon at the “Fish Tank” as three of the four Muskie teams took it to the limit before downing the visiting Dryden Eagles in volleyball and basketball action.
The biggest thriller came at day’s end when the Muskie senior girls’ volleyball team (4-3) spotted the Eagles a two-set lead, then dug deep and pulled out a 3-2 win for their first NorWOSSA victory in four tries season against Dryden.
The Eagles had clawed their way to 26-24 and 25-22 wins in the first two sets, and were in control in each of the last three sets, but couldn’t put away a relentless Muskies squad.
Facing match point at 24-23, Allison Hyatt kept the black-and-gold alive with a spike that she had to reach behind her head to deliver, which rallied the Muskies to take the third set 27-25.
In the fourth set, Dryden was two points away from sealing the win at 23-21, but the Fort High crew once again scratched their way back to tie the game 23-23.
Christina Romaniuk then delivered an ace for the Muskies that was called out by the backline judge, but overruled by one of the two officials at the net, eliciting an outraged response from the Dryden bench to no avail.
The Eagles then sent a kill attempt long to give the black and gold a 25-23 win.
In the decisive fifth set, Dryden took a 10-6 lead but Fort Frances captured six of the next seven points, then ended the match with a perfect cross-court ace from Mallory Chowhan for a 15-12 victory.
Meanwhile, the Muskie junior girls’ volleyball team (3-4) went back and forth with the Eagles here yesterday afternoon, winning the first and third sets (25-16/25-20) while losing the second and fourth (25-21/25-19).
The teams continued to go toe-to-toe in the fifth and deciding set. But with the score tied at 11-11, it was the Muskies who made the shots when they had to.
A great kill by Kim Councillor, a lunging service return winner by Megan Soderholm, and a spike-turned-tip shot at the net by Laura Busch carried the black-and-gold to a 15-13 win and a 3-2 victory in the match.
In basketball action, the senior boys (2-5) almost let a 17-point second-half lead slip away against the Eagles.
But despite team scoring leader Kevin Gemmell being held to four points, the Muskies held on for a 53-52 win as Dryden came up empty on three possessions in the final 30 seconds.
The Muskies made only one of six foul shots in the final 1:02 to allow the Eagles stay in the game. But the visitors came up short, thanks to two turnovers and a 15-footer at the buzzer by Jemil Muxlow that clanked off the rim.
Bill Whitecrow led the Muskie offensive attack for the first time this season, collecting 13 points, while Vern Pham pitched in with 11. Jeff Hardy, Jaime Hanson, and Justin Ovenstone all had 10 points for the visitors.
Finally, an 11-0 Dryden run to start the game, coupled with a tough shooting day for the Muskies’ scoring ace, spelled doom for the junior boys’ squad as the Eagles cruised to a 61-40 win.
The Muskies (1-6) were led by Thomas Edwards and Fraser Gibson with eight points apiece while Kevin Savoury paced the Eagles with 12.
Larry Pham, who has averaged double digits in points this season as the offensive sparkplug for the black-and-gold, was held to just four points by a stifling Dryden defence yesterday.
Fort Frances will close the NorWOSSA regular-season Monday here against the Kenora Broncos, with action starting at 3:30 p.m.
The Muskies then will host the NorWOSSA playoffs next Thursday (Feb. 20), beginning at 10 a.m. Spectators are welcome.