Barnum gets a sweep in Section 7A

Sectional volleyball action began Monday with No. 7 Barnum sweeping No. 10 Wrenshall in Section 7A south. It was a repeat of the matchup between the teams on Oct. 4, a 3-0 win for Barnum.

Barnum came in with a record of 8-15 while the Wrens were 2-21. On Monday, the Bombers won by scores of 25-15, 25-13 and 25-9. Barnum moved on to the second round of the tournament and Wednesday night against No. 2 South Ridge. (The match wasn't complete by the time the Pine Knot went to press.)

"All the girls played well," said Barnum coach Corina Newman of the Wrenshall sweep. "Hopefully, we learned some things and will be ready to play against South Ridge."

The Wrens struggled to find wins this year, but despite that they still came to play every night, and Monday was no exception.

"It was a rough night for us because we were missing a couple of starters," said John Peterson, head coach of the Wrens. "Barnum did a super job against us. They are scrappy and they kept the pressure on us."

The Bomber scrappiness came from libero Naomi Poirier, who finished with 22 digs, and Ivy Polecheck, who chipped in with a strong game as the middle-hitter for Barnum.

"All I asked of the girls all season was to work on getting better each game," Newman said. "We don't worry about wins and losses, but only about getting better and learning the game. They have done that, and that is all I can ask for."

Wrenshall has relied on Janae Sjodin in a multitude of roles this season.

"Janae had to switch to setter for us and she did so without any argument," Johnson said. "Even though she would have been our best hitter, she just did what she had to do and never complained."

The Wrens also had a strong game from middle-hitter Liz Johnson, who is in only her second year of playing volleyball as well as Keely Bergman, another sophomore who was stellar in her libero position.

Other matches

On Wednesday, Cromwell-Wright (No. 4) was set to play Marshall School, and Carlton (No. 3) was facing Silver Bay. Winners would advance to a quarterfinal match at the high seed at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, with the semifinal match on Wednesday, Nov. 2 in Hibbing.

The Section 7AA tournament began Wednesday as No. 3 Esko hosted No. 6 Mora and No. 5 Moose Lake/Willow River traveled to No. 4 Proctor. ML/WR lost in four sets: 25-18, 25-21, 23025 and 25-13. With a win, Esko would face either Pine City or Hinckley-Finlayson. The winner will advance to quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 at the high seed.

In Section 7AAA, Cloquet had a strong regular season and garnered the No. 2 seed. The Lumberjacks were set to open tournament play at home at 6 p.m. Thursday against No. 7 Denfeld. The winner of that match will advance to the semifinal against either Hermantown or Hibbing at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2 at the high seed.