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The Wildcat volleyball team ran into a tall and talented Anoka Tornado Friday, October 26 at CLHS. CL fought hard, but the sixth-seeded Tornadoes swept the third-seeded 'Cats 3-0, eliminating Chisago Lakes from the Section 7AAA Volleyball Tournament.

The Wildcats led most of the way in the closely contested first game, which featured 11 ties. The biggest leads were only four points, midway through the opener.

After Anoka got the first point of the match, a Rachel Nelson block created the game's first tie. At 2-2, senior Krista Swanson's kill gave the Wildcats their first lead. A Courtney Fautsch spike helped the home team to a 6-3 lead before Anoka fought back to create the second tie at 7-7.

Once again, the Wildcats tried to pull away. A perfect Mackenzie Maher led to a Fautsch hit, who followed her spike with an ace from the service line. The 'Cats led 9-7. The Tornadoes funneled the ball to their two six-footers, who buried consecutive hits to tie it at nine.

CL pulled away to the game's biggest leads (14-10 and 15-11) thanks to a pair of Anoka miscues and the play of Courtney Christy. The Wildcat senior's tip gave her team an 11-10 advantage and her hit put CL up 14-10.

When the Tornadoes closed the margin to one (15-14) Chisago Lakes head coach Katie Larson called her first timeout. When play resumed, another Christy spike gave the 'Cats a 16-14 lead. Once again, Anoka came back to tie it (at 16-16).

From that point, neither team was able to gain a lead of more than one point, until an Anoka serve gave the visitors a 24-22 lead. The Wildcats came back to close the Tornado lead to one (24-23), but Anoka took the last point to win the game 25-23 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second game started like the first one had. Kills by Nelson, and Swanson and a tip by Christy helped the Wildcats stay close in the early going. The two traded leads, and, when the scoreboard read 8-8, the score had already been tied six times.

But, Anoka scored the next six points to pull away. Larson took timeouts at at 11-8 and 15-9, but the Tornadoes continued to increase their lead. Despite three Fautsch kills for points in the second half of the game, the 'Cats were unable to escape the path of the Tornado and Anoka won 25-15, taking a 2-0 lead.

The third game began like the previous two. A well-placed Fautsch drive put the 'Cats up 3-1 before the Tornadoes tied it at three apiece. Wildcat senior Sarah Reese seemed to be everywhere for the next few minutes as her play lead to a 10-4 CL lead.

Christy made a series of saves and a kill to help Chisago maintain that lead through the middle of the game. Her play led the 'Cats to a 17-10 advantage before the Tornadoes started to clear a path to victory.

Anoka closed the gap to three (19-16) before a Nelson block gave the home team a 20-16 lead. The Tornadoes continued their steady play and knotted the game a 23 when a Wildcat hit caught the net and fell to the floor on the CL side. Once again, the Tornadoes scored the last two points to end the match 25-23 to move into the Section 7AAA semi-finals.

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