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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

North Woods sweeps Eveleth-Gilbert

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 9/14/17

EVELETH— The North Woods Grizzlies notched their second sweep of the season, topping the Golden Bears on their home court Tuesday night, 25-15, 25-18, and 25-22.

“The win was good for their …

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North Woods sweeps Eveleth-Gilbert

Posted

EVELETH— The North Woods Grizzlies notched their second sweep of the season, topping the Golden Bears on their home court Tuesday night, 25-15, 25-18, and 25-22.

“The win was good for their confidence,” said Assistant Coach Dee Ann Sandberg following the match. The victory improved the Grizzlies’ record to 3-3, and it came the day after an epic five-game battle with a strong Deer River squad, in which the Grizzlies lost the tiebreaker 16-18.

On Tuesday night, the Grizzlies showed their resilience as they dominated Eveleth-Gilbert.

A number of North Woods players posted strong performances, including junior Regan Ratai who tallied eight kills and seven digs in the sweep, followed by sophomore Coley Olson with as many kills and four digs. Junior Hanna Sandberg notched nine digs on defense, while classmate Claire Beaudry put up 22 set assists and a block. Sophomore Karlyn Pierce tallied three kills and three blocks. Kate Stone notched three kills and two digs and Neiva Smith helped out with four ace serves and a block.

“We still need to work on blocking and covering,” said Sandberg.  “It seems like the girls know it, but we need to continue working on following through.”

Deer River heartbreaker

Errors proved costly for the Grizzlies as they hosted the Warriors on Monday, losing in five hard-fought games, 25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 21-25, and 16-18.

“We also need to work on finishing the game out,” said Sandberg. “We get lazy toward the end and that allowed Deer River to come back a lot.”

The extended action allowed the Grizzlies to put up big numbers on the night, despite the loss. Ratai again led the stats, with 16 kills, 12 digs, and three ace serves. Olson tallied 15 kills, 11 digs, four aces serves and a block, while Stone notched ten kills and two digs. Beaudry added 38 set assists along with an ace and a block. Pierce smashed three kills and added a block.

In action last Thursday, the Grizzlies notched their second match win of the season, topping visiting Mesabi East in four games. The Grizzlies took the first two games 25-22 and 25-16, but dropped game three 22-25. They put it away in the fourth game, 25-21.

Junior setter Claire Beaudry was in top form, racking up 33 assists and five aces on the evening. Sophomore Coley Olson added 11 kills and four aces, while junior Regan Ratai notched 11 digs and eight kills. Junior Hanna Sandberg added ten digs and three aces while Kate Stone tallied seven kills, six digs, and two aces.

The Grizzlies were set to host Littlefork-Big Falls on Thursday, Sept. 14. They travel to Cherry next Tuesday to take on the 2-3 Tigers. All games start at 7 p.m.