Spikers finish third at Dryden tourney

The Muskie senior girls’ volleyball team took two of three games from Atikokan to claim third place at a tournament in Dryden last weekend.
And they did it in dramatic fashion.
After dropping the first game 15-13, the Muskies trailed 12-8 in the second one. But they fought back to eke out a 16-14 win, then won the third and deciding game 15-12 to win the match.
Head coach Rick Wiedenhoeft admitted it wasn’t their best match of the tournament. But he also was pleased with the way his players battled back from the brink of elimination in the second game.
“I’ll give the girls credit. They didn’t give up,” he stressed.
The Muskies placed third after round-robin play, which included a 15-7, 10-15, and 15-9 win over Kenora, a 15-0, 15-5 shellacking of Hammarskjold (Thunder Bay), and an earlier 15-3, 15-7 sweep against Atikokan.
Other scores from tournament games were not available.
The Muskies then were matched with Atikokan, who had finished fourth in the round-robin, in the third-place game.
Wiedenhoeft said he was pleased with the job setter Laureen Cousineau did all weekend as the catalyst of their offensive attack.
Sarah Vanderplaats and Amy Wilson also played well in setting up the offence, he noted, adding Cousineau and Christine Noonan bolstered the team’s serving with “good, strong serves” throughout.
Wiedenhoeft said the key now is to get everyone playing their best leading up to the NorWOSSA playoffs Feb. 26 in Kenora.
The Muskies closed out the regular season here today against the Broncos, with the winner clinching top spot in the three-team league (results weren’t available at press time).