Volleyball Roundup

Barnum loses again, improving bit by bit

Slowly, but surely, the Bombers are getting more competitive.

Although Barnum has only one win and has lost its past 23 sets, they hung right with conference juggernaut Cook County in a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-22) Polar League loss Tuesday night in Grand Marais.

“We played much better up there,” said Coach Corina Newman afterward, noting her team’s continual improvement. “I think we’re finally finding that right rotation.”

Barnum’s pair of seniors led the Bombers Tuesday. Allainie Hanek-Siltanen had 12 digs and 11 kills, while Karianna Duesler dished up 19 set assists and added 12 digs. Sage Miletich also had 12 digs and five ace serves for Barnum (1-13).

Carlton continues struggles; gets swept again

Lately, nothing has been going right for the Bulldogs.

Since losing a two-set lead in Two Harbors, Carlton has lost the last four matches, all 12 sets. Most recently, they were dumped by Polar League foe Floodwood 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-12) Tuesday on the road.

Molli Durovec and Erika Scharnberg led Floodwood with 13 and 10 kills, respectively, as Stacey Larva tossed 31 set assists in the win.

“Floodwood played well, but our youngness is showing up,” said Carlton Coach Barb Soukkala. “It was pretty ugly.”

Carlton (7-10) – sporting only two seniors – hasn’t won in well over a week, posting losses against Two Harbors, Esko, Hermantown and now the Polar Bears.

Carlton has had eight matches in the last 11 days.

“We’ve been playing a lot,” said Soukkala. “We need to get some practicing in.”

Although sloppy, Cloquet dumps Crosby-Ironton

CLOQUET – It wasn’t the prettiest, but a win’s a win.

Despite committing 10 service errors, the Lumberjacks defeated visiting Crosby-Ironton 3-0 (25-19, 25-10, 25-17) Tuesday in a non-conference engagement at Cloquet High School. The Rangers made 11 service errors.

The Lumberjacks (11-8) took early advantages in all three sets, fighting off one substantial run by the Rangers. Other than that, Cloquet rolled.

Freshman Alex Oakes paced Cloquet with 17 set assists, seven digs and three ace serves. Fellow freshman Sami Westendorf added six digs, while seniors Maddie Kiehn and Emily Fossen recorded nine and seven kills, respectively.

The Lumberjacks placed seventh at last weekend’s Virginia Invitational, defeating Bigfork and Chisholm on the day. They also added a 3-1 Lake Superior Conference win over Duluth Denfeld last Thursday night.

In marquee match-up, Esko stumbles against East

The must-see rematch went to the Greyhounds.

Following their thrilling 2-1 semifinal clash in last weekend’s Duluth East Invitational, the Eskomos and Greyhounds got back to work Tuesday night. Like their first meeting, Duluth East won, this time 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-11, 25-18) before an enthusiastic, packed Esko High School.

“It was a great atmosphere, big crowd,” said Esko Coach Desiree DeLeon. “East played well. We made many mistakes.”

Mistakes don’t happen much for the Eskomos (16-3), who have only lost 11 of their 58 sets this fall.

“Hopefully we will learn from this loss,” added DeLeon Tuesday night.

Senior Stephanie Bandelin guided Esko with 15 digs and 14 kills, while fellow senior Stephanie Miller added 25 set assists and junior Kallyn Knutson had 16 digs.

Esko placed third in the East Invitational, defeating Chisago Lakes Area, Washburn and Anoka. Their only loss came against the hosts.

Wrenshall drops two more contests

Although much more competitive this year than last, the Wrens still have yet to win on the volleyball court. Wrenshall’s young bunch was swept 3-0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-16) in non-conference loss at Duluth Marshall Monday.

Winless Wrenshall (0-10) couldn’t stop the Hilltoppers’ Gabriella Igboko, Aurelia Phillips and Sydney Adams, all of whom were statistical leaders for Duluth Marshall.

The Wrens were also swept by visiting Polar League foe Two Harbors last Thursday, as Natalie Peaney led Wrenshall with four ace serves. Chloe Swanson was once again perfect with 100-percent serving, going 3-for-3 on the night.

Tags: sports, volleyball, preps