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Zimmerman 3

Chisago Lakes 2

With a young team, arguably the most important part of the formula is learning how to win. Chisago Lakes was still working at that last Tuesday after letting their match with Zimmerman get away from them.

Leading two games to none, playing in their final Rum River conference volleyball game, the Thunder charged back to grab the next three, keeping the ‘Cats conference win total at one. The loss dropped Chisago’s season record to 4-13.

Things started off good, no check that, they started off great. The Wildcats cruised to two quick wins in games one and two, leaving them one game short of a win. However, Zimmerman charged back by defeating the ‘Cats 25-15 in game three. They then followed that up with wins in games four and five as well.

“I think we were finally overconfident after going two games up. Truly, our team is better than the record shows, but we just can’t get a hold on the mental part of the game,” said Nicole DeVries, Chisago Lakes head volleyball coach. “Then we lost that third game and we started to play tight. We played so tight and so tentative, we just couldn’t put the ball in play.”

Meanwhile, Zimmerman did that just enough to win, especially in the fifth and final game where the Thunder won 16-14, completing the three games to two victory. Down the stretch, the ‘Cats just couldn’t get the points when they needed them.

“We don’t have attackers, we don’t have that go-to girl who gives us kills when we need them,” remarked DeVries. “Plus, we have a hard time blocking. We just played too tight. When we were relaxed, we killed them.”

Zimmerman 3

Chisago Lakes 2

Game One-

Chisago Lakes 25, Zimmerman 14

Game Two-

Chisago Lakes 25, Zimmerman 14

Game Three-

Zimmerman 25, Chisago Lakes 15

Game Four-

Zimmerman 25, Chisago Lakes 17

Game Five-

Zimmerman 16, Chisago Lakes 14

Wildcats lose four at Sartell Invite

Two days after losing to Zimmerman, the Chisago Lakes Wildcats finished their regular season schedule with the Sartell Invite last Thursday.

Up first was Paynesville. Plagued by a slow start, the ‘Cats started slow and never recovered, losing to the Bulldogs 2-0.

Hoping to put that behind them in game two against Foley, the Wildcats did just that by grabbing a 25-12 win in game one. The ‘Cats looked like a different team until a string of Foley serves in game two reversed the momentum of the match. The Falcons struck for 11 straight points, enabling them to come back and win game two. Foley then added a win in game three as well, giving them a two games to one win.

“We started out really flat against Paynesville for whatever reason, I don’t know why,” mentioned DeVries. “But then we played fantastic against Foley. That’s the thing about this team, we have a ton of potential, and when we decide to play well, we do. We really put them away in that first game, but then we let them serve 11 times in a row. Teams go on these runs against us and we can’t let them do that. Then we got down and we lost the third game.”

For senior Katie Reed, in the third match of the day against St. Cloud Cathedral, the pain turned from emotional to physical after she was injured in game one. It didn’t stop her, it just slowed her down as she returned late in the game. However, despite her and her teammates efforts, the Crusaders used Reed’s absence to their advantage, winning game one 25-19.

Reed returned for all of game two, however, most will agree that she was only 50 percent at best. Cathedral benefited from that, squeezing out a 25-23 win in game two, grabbing a two games to none victory.

“We were close. I was actually pretty happy with the way we played. It’s weird because these kids just kept up a great attitude, even when Katie was hurt,” remembered DeVries. “Here, one of our main leaders is hurt and they just continued to play hard, that’s a big step for a young team. It’s weird. They are just a really great group of girls.”

The loss to Cathedral put the Wildcats season record at 4-16 with one game left on the docket against New London-Spicer.

The Wildcats of New London-Spicer roared the loudest as both teams fought for seventh place in the tournament. In the end, New London came out on top with a two games to one win, dropping the ‘Cats down to eighth-place. The setback also put the Wildcats final regular season record at 4-17 with sections up next.

“Even though we lost all four games, we just told the kids before the tournament to just go out their and work hard and they did. I was happy with that,” commented DeVries. “There was no pressure, no expectations on us. I told them to leave it on the court. At this point in the year, it would be easy for some kids to just cash it in but they didn’t do that. They really worked hard.”

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