Senior spikers swept by Eagles

Room 134 at Fort Frances High School, which is the Social Science work room, was the place of choice.
That’s where the Muskie senior girls’ volleyball team met after a disheartening straight-set loss to the Dryden Eagles here last Thursday afternoon.
They enclosed themselves in the room for about 20 minutes discussing their 1-5 record in NorWOSSA—and what they needed to do to turn around a season with just two games left until the playoffs.
“It was disappointing because the scores were close again, and as far as their skill goes, they are very comparable to the Dryden Eagles,” noted Muskie head coach Char Bliss.
“What I told the girls is that they build up and they build up, and then they kind of slide back down again,” she said.
“And when I say that, I mean in terms of talking, communicating, showing enthusiasm, and being pumped for whether they are losing or winning,” Bliss added.
The Muskies did a good job of that to start the best-of-five match as they were able to climb back after being down 14-9 to tie things up at 16-16.
The set got even tighter than the Indian-Pakistani border as the score eventually would get to 23-21, but a Muskie time-out couldn’t help boost their efforts and they fell 25-22.
“It’s the little mistakes like serving into the net, or hitting a down ball when you shouldn’t be hitting a down ball, and I said to them, ‘Those little points, when it’s tight with Dryden, really count’,” said Bliss.
The second set saw the black-and-gold grab an early 3-0 lead. Dryden responded with a string of points to jump ahead 12-7, but then the Muskies—thanks to the serve of Kate Basaraba—evened the score at 14-14.
But the home side would only score five more points to the Eagles’ 11 to drop a 25-19 decision, which once again reflected what Bliss has seen all season long.
“You have to play smart and you have to keep talking,” she stressed. “Like I said, they’re getting down on each other and down on themselves, and it shows in their play.”
The third set saw much of the same as the Muskies again put themselves in a position to win—only to fall just short in a 25-21 defeat.
“Despite losing, I think we played really good and we’re still learning how to play as a team,” said Muskie power Megan Soderholm.
The Muskies had entered the match against Dryden confident after earning their first win of the NorWOSSA season two days earlier in Kenora, which lifted some weight off their shoulders.
“It was really big because now we know we can win and we can work as a team. We really needed it,” said Bliss.
The Muskies lost the first set to Kenora, but some words from Bliss helped rally the team.
“I shouldn’t say it was the first time I got angry, because the girls will completely disagree with me, but when I know they are capable, and are a better team in skills and technicality, and when you see them play, I guess it’s frustrating because you know they should be winning those games and not losing to a team like Kenora,” said Bliss.
“So I just said, ‘Okay, let’s go back to the basics and think about making smart plays,’ and then they started building some momentum to get the win,” she added.
But even after their loss to the Eagles, you’ve got to admire the effort from the Muskies.
Most teams when facing hardships would pack up their gear and say, ‘See ya,’ but the Muskies have not done that. Though they sit in the cellar of the three-team league, they still show up and put their full effort into each match.
“I just sometimes can’t say enough great things about them because they are all wonderful,” remarked Bliss. “I try to once in a while at practice say, ‘I’m very proud of the way you guys are supporting each other.’
“You hear horror stories that go on other teams about conflict within the team, whether it’s players or coaches, and it happens sometimes, but it’s been a really good team to work with this year,” Bliss added.
“It’s been really exciting. It’s been lots of fun,” echoed Soderholm.
On the junior side of things, the Muskies kept things interesting at times, but in the end couldn’t contend with the visiting Eagles, who won the match in four sets.
The Eagles jumped to a 2-0 lead after 25-17 and 25-12 wins, and though the Muskies took the third one 25-19, they couldn’t hold on in the fourth, which was won by Dryden 25-17.
The junior are now 3-3 in NorWOSSA action.
Due to exams, the Muskie volleyball teams don’t resume league play until Feb. 10, when they travel to Dryden to meet these same Eagles.
They’ll wrap up the regular season here Feb. 15 versus Kenora.