A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
The Bulldogs volleyball team and coaches celebrate Saturday after winning the 7A Section crown and realizing they were on their way to the state tournament this week. The Bulldogs played their first game at state Thursday afternoon as this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press.
Carlton setter Brynne Mickle gives middle hitter Alaina Bennett the perfect set up during the 7A Section championship games in Hibbing Saturday, while Deer River players get ready to try to block her shot.
It was hugs all around for the Carlton volleyball team and the Bulldog fans Saturday after the team won the 7A Section championship in three games.
HIBBING-The Carlton Bulldogs are making another trip to state volleyball tournament this week after a convincing 3-0 win over the Deer River Warriors in last Saturday's Section 7A championship match.
The final lasted less than an hour at Lincoln Elementary Gymnasium, with Carlton winning games one and two 25-15 and 25-19, and the final game 25-9.
"I didn't see them nervous at all out there today. Even when they got behind early in that second game, I didn't see them get rattled. This group just doesn't do that," observed Carlton head coach Barb Soukkala. "They kept playing, they kept fighting, they kept hitting the ball."
The Bulldogs junior-dominated lineup defended well, holding Deer River senior standout and UMD-commit Hope Schjenken to just eight kills on the day.
"It's a great win, we played positions very well, and we read very well defensively today," said Soukkala. "We stayed on offense a lot, forcing them to play out of position and their big hitter hit a lot into the net today."
Junior MH Alaina Bennett provided five blocks for the 'Dogs, who improved to 28-2 on the season in front of a large and vocal crowd of fans who made the trip to Hibbing to support their perennially successful team.
Carlton's offensive punch came from juniors Taylor Nelson (12 kills), Abby Mickle (8 kills) and Bennet (8 kills). The trio were set up for those kills by another junior, setter Brynne Mickle, who finished with a match-high 38 set assists.
The Bulldogs have been playing with this same core group of juniors now for the last few seasons, and Soukkala knows they are a special group.
"It's pretty amazing to have 12-13 juniors on the roster, and even though it's six or seven that play, the other juniors push them in practice," she said. "They make them better. They're an integral part of our team, and we want to make sure they know that."
Carlton is making its fifth overall trip to St. Paul, with appearances also in 2003, 2004, 2013 and 2014.
Section 7A was represented the past three seasons by Cook County at the state tournament, but not this year. The Vikings lost in the quarters to Cromwell-Wright, defeated by Deer River (18-9) in the semis.
"We almost had 'em last year," reminisced Soukkala, speaking of her team's five-set defeat at the hands of Cook County in last season's section final, the final game a close 15-13. "They worked hard during the off-season and were motivated to get back here. They knew the stakes and were hungry for it."
And this season is Carlton's in 7A. They did not lose a game in the section tournament, and have lost only a little over a handful all season. The team's only two defeats came on the same day against state entrant North Branch (AA) and Princeton (AAA) at a September tournament. They owned a 22-match winning streak heading into their quarterfinal state match against 30-1 Ada-Borup on Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. They are playing at 1 p.m. today (Friday, Nov. 9) in either the championship semis or the consolation semifinals.
