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
Carlton's Alaina Bennett tips the ball over the net past Wrenshall defenders Jordyn Harvey and Lacy Lekander during Thursday evening's matchup in Wrenshall.
Carlton's Taylor Nelson returns a serve against the Wrenshall Wrens Thursday night in Wrenshall.
The Carlton volleyball team continued its roll through the regular season with a 3-0 win over Wrenshall last week. The Bulldogs won 25-5, 25-18, 25-12 and their record is now 21-2 after winning a tournament in Mora this past weekend.
"We played well against Wrenshall," said Carlton coach Barb Soukkala. "We were able to get everyone some playing time."
The Bulldogs have been impressive all season with a roster loaded with experience and talent as they build toward the section tournament.
On the other side of the net, the Wrens are young and are still learning what it takes to win with a roster that features only one senior.
"Carlton is a very tough team," said Wrens coach John Peterson. "The thing that makes them hard to beat is their size and quick pace of attacking the net."
Carlton was led by Sam Matarelli, who finished with nine kills, and Taylor Nelson with eight kills. Brynne Mickle ran the offense efficiently with 40 set assists.
"We are playing really well right now," Soukkala said.
Carlton has played the three tournaments on its schedule this season.
"We are done with all three tournaments so we are a bit tired right now," Soukkala said. "Right now we are trying to keep focused until the playoffs start."
After struggling to get much offense in the first game against Carlton, the Wrens had a much better second game by scoring 18 points in the loss.
"During the second game the girls did a good job of adjusting to the pace and positioned themselves well on defense," Peterson said. "Playing teams like Carlton shows us where some of our holes are as a group, and what we need to do in order to get better and play at a higher level."
Brooke Kent led the Wrens with three kills and 17 digs and Maggie Sowada had 13 digs.
The Wrens are looking to build on a 5-4 record.
"I am seeing a large amount of improvement in my girls as the year progresses," Peterson said. "They are swinging more efficiently, and playing great defense. In order to improve, we need to keep putting pressure on teams with our defense. We lack size as a whole, but make up for it in our level of effort and great passing ability."
While the Bulldogs schedule slows down a bit, the Wrens have a very busy week ahead with matches at MIB, South Ridge, Esko and a tournament at Mesabi East.
