Senior spikers fall in semis

Staff

The Muskie senior boys’ volleyball team pulled off a pretty good showing at a tournament in Dryden, but couldn’t quite make the weekend as long as they had hoped.
The black-and-gold fell in straight sets to Red Lake in the semi-finals after winning seven of 10 sets during round-robin play to finish second in their pool.
They opened by splitting Dryden (Blue), losing 25-14 before rebounding 25-20, then swept Whitefish Bay 25-21 and 25-15.
The Muskies wrapped up play Friday with splits against the Dryden juniors (23-25/25-12) and Sioux Lookout (22-25/25-22).
Fort High concluded the round-robin with a 25-17/ 25-13 sweep of Atikokan, then pounded Dennis Franklin Cromartie High School (Thunder Bay) 25-8/25-18 to earn a berth in the semis, where Red Lake won in straight sets to advance to the championship (scores from that match were not available).
Muskie head coach Allison Hyatt was encouraged by the team’s play over the weekend, setting them up well to finish the NorWOSSA season in style.
“They played very well,” she enthused.
“They’re definitely improving,” she stressed. “We’ve seen improvement in all aspects of their game.
“Our aggressiveness and our intensity is there, and our blocking and our front-row game has really come along,” Hyatt added.
The seniors (2-3) fell below .500 in NorWOSSA play last Wednesday (Oct. 13) in Dryden, dropping a four-set match by scores of 25-19, 25-21, 17-25, and 25-15.
The juniors (4-1) were the only team to come out of Dryden victorious, eking out a five-set win over the host Eagles (25-23, 14-25, 25-21, 23-25, and 15-13).
The teams will resume NorWOSSA play on Oct. 26 in Kenora.