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Chisago Lakes 3, Spring Lake Park 2

The Wildcat volleyball team almost dug themselves too deep of a hole to get out of early last week against the Spring Lake Park Panthers.

Passing and missed opportunities on their serve relgated the Wildcats to playing from behind in both the first two sets. The Panthers made them pay in both, winning the first set 25-20 and the second set 25-21, leaving Chisago Lakes one set from starting the year 1-2.

That's when things took a turn for the better for Chisago Lakes. Actually, make that a turn for the much better. Outside hitter Sydney Powell came alive in the third and fourth sets, and sophomore Nicole Johnson's passes started finding their precise mark for CL.

In the third set, the Wildcats staved off defeat by crushing Spring Lake Park 25-10. In the fourth set, still on the brink of a loss, the Wildcats again dominated the Panthers, winning 25-14 to force a fifth and final set.

In the fifth set, both teams came out firing, and Spring Lake Park took the early lead. They were able to keep Chisago Lakes at bay by mixing their shots up and an effective serve. The Wildcats were on the brink of losing their comeback effort, down 9-12 in the third set, but the resilient young girls went on a 6-1 run to end the set and win it 15-13 to complete their comeback over the Panthers.

"We couldn't seem to pass the ball anywhere near our setter and we missed 13 serves in the first two sets, going down 0-2," Head Coach Drew Rongere said. "We regained our focus following the second match, though and came back for the five set win."

Although it was some mental errors that caused the Wildcats to be in such a deep hole in the first place, Rongere knows that if the young team, which features a boatload of sophomores, can improve on the mental aspect of the game, things could get dicey for everyone else. "These girls can compete with anyone in our conference and section once we figure out how to play with intensity and confidence every second they're on the court," he said. "I'm hoping that happens soon, because they are going to be really fun to watch."

Powell led the Wildcats with 13 kills, four aces, four blocks and 18 digs. Senior Zoe Hansen had six kills, 16 digs and five aces, and sophomore Tori Kildow had an exceptional night from the service line, hitting six aces. Defensive specialist Alyssa Hynes had three kills, one ace, and seven blocks.

Fridley 3, Chisago Lakes 0

Although Rongere was preaching intensity and confidence, the Wildcats severely lacked both in a sweep loss to Fridley.

The Tigers, who finished second in the conference last year with a 9-1 mark, and a 21-9 record overall, blasted the Wildcats early and often.

In the first set, Fridley finished off Chisago Lakes pretty quickly, winning 25-12. The second set wasn't much different as Fridley opened a big lead and never looked back en route to a 25-15 win. The third set was demoralizing for Chisago Lakes, as it was the worst of the night. They lost 25-6 as Fridley ran roughshod over their defense.

Zoe Hansen (11) and Tori Kildow (10) go up for a block in a game this year.

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