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The Wildcat volleyball team had a wildly busy week, culminating in the Chisago Lakes Invite, and despite starting the hectic schedule in a rut, the girls broke out of it to win three of their last four.

Mississippi 8 Conference games

The ‘Cats fell to conference leading Princeton on Tuesday, September 24 in a 3-0 sweep. 

Mariah Cave had seven kills, Sophia Al-Khatib had four and Kate Friedner and Kayla Larsen each had three.

The Tigers, who are 19-2 overall and 6-0 in the M8C, beat Chisago Lakes pretty quickly, winning 25-13 in all three sets.

Chisago Lakes tried to bounce back two days later when they hosted Cambridge-Isanti on Thursday, September 26. The game was close throughout, with Chisago Lakes taking the first set before the Bluejackets nabbed the next two. Chisago Lakes fought off the loss with a 25-21 win in the fourth set, but C-I finished the job with a 15-8 win in the fifth and final set.

Al-Khatib had 11 kills and Cave had 10 to lead the Wildcats’ offensive attack. The ‘Cats were also extremely potent from the service line, with 16 aces on the night. Friedner had an amazing eight herself. Larsen and Kianna Osmundson each had three. Osmundson and Morgan Mayer split the setting duties, with Mayer dishing out 16 assists and Osmundon serving up 10 helpers.

Chisago Lakes Invitational

The all day Chisago Lakes Invite tournament was a test of endurance and skill for the Wildcats on Saturday, September 28. They played five matches in all and after dropping two of their first three, they won their last two, including a measure of revenge against Cambridge-Isanti.

The ‘Cats opened with a 25-20, 25-10 loss to Maranatha Christian Academy before bouncing back for a pretty easy 25-10, 25-19 win over Pine City. The up and down continued, though, when the ‘Cats lost to section foe Mahtomedi in a 25-14, 25-14 sweep. Chisago Lakes did bounce back, though, with a 25-11, 25-15 win over International Falls and a 25-16, 25-15 win over the Bluejackets.

Cave had over 25 kills on the day and Al-Khatib and Friender both had over 20. Mayer had over 50 assists and Kayla Wheeler added some important digs that helped the ‘Cats win their last two games. 

Chisago Lakes has just four games left in the regular season. They took on Zimmerman earlier this week before hosting St. Francis on Thursday, October 3 in their last home game of the year. They’ll travel to Coon Rapids and Big Lake to end the regular season.

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