Panthers Win Fifth Straight Volleyball Match

Wes Vork-NSO

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Oct 15, 2012

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

WRENSHALL- When the South Ridge Panthers entered the gym in Wrenshall on Monday, the Panthers had won four straight matches and 11 of their last 12 and they were looking to add to those totals as they took on the Wrens in a section battle.

The Panthers took down the Wrens in three straight matches, but the Wrens did earn some highly regarded respect from the Panthers. South Ridge won the first game of the match 25-12, the second 25-15, and in a third game of the set it was a 25-22 victory for the Panthers.

“We started hot in the first game” Head Coach Brad Olesiak told NSO. “We played well in the second game, but give them credit, in the third game of the match they played hard and had a good chance to win that last game.”

The first game of the match saw the Panthers bounce out to an early lead of 11-6. The Panthers then went on a 8-0 run behind the serving of Justice Janke as the Panthers built up an 19-6 lead and then increased it to 23-9 and easily went on to the first game victory.

The second game of the match saw the Panthers opening up a 5-0 lead then went ahead 10-3. With the Wrens trailing by six, the Wrens rattled off five straight points to cut the Panthers lead, but South Ridge responded right back and rolled to the 10 point 25-15 win.

“We had a mental breakdown in the second game for a little bit, but we came back strong and was very proud of how we played.” Olesiak stated, “The third game of the match saw the Wrens and the Panthers battle back and forth throughout the game but in the end the Panthers came away with a three point victory.

“I am so proud of our girl’s,” Wrenshall Head Coach Andrea Ruth told NSO. “These girls have improved so much this season; it’s nice to see all the progress. We had two starters that were not here tonight and the girls we had to fill in did a great job for us.”

“We have been playing very well lately and if we can cut down on our unforced errors and mistakes we can play with anyone.” Olesiak said, “We are still very young and have lapses but these girl’s work so hard out there.”

The Panthers, with the win Monday night improve to 16-4 on the season as they win their fifth straight match. The Panthers and move to 15-4 in section play and are currently seed third in Section 7A Sub-Section 1, behind Carlton and Northeast Range.

The Panthers will close out their regular season at home on Tuesday night at South Ridge High School when the Panthers will face the Proctor Rails in a non-conference match-up. The Rails come into the Tuesday match with a 4-16 record overall.

The Wrenshall Wrens fall to 3-13 overall on the season and they fall to 2-8 in section play. The Wrens are currently seeded in 10th in the Sub-Section1 7A.The Wrens will close out the regular season Tuesday night at home against the Cromwell Cardinals. Cromwell enters with a record of 9-6 on the season. The Cardinals are seeded fifth in the sub-section.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com