Cloquet Wins Three Tight Matches Against Carlton

Wes Vork-NSO

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Oct 6

Kerry Rodd-NSO

The buzz in the crowd at Cloquet High School gym last night was electric. The Lumberjacks were taking on next door neighbor Carlton and the many fans in attendance were also on the edge of their seats wondering how the Minnesota Twins were doing in their final game of the season. In the end the Jacks won 3-1 and the Twins, of course, are heading to New York in the playoffs.

Carlton used a strong surge in the latter stages of the first game to pull out a 27-25 win, but the Jacks would rebound to win the final three games 25-22, 25-23 and 25-23. The turning point came in game two where the Jacks trailed 18-7, but rallied to win the game and the match.

The entire match was a well played affair with both teams riding waves of momentum. At times, the Bulldogs dominated at the net with strong play from Katie Bloom, Tayler Carpenter and Sarah Aili, only to have the momentum swing towards the Jacks with Katie Konietzko, Katie Schulz, Maddie Kiehn and Emily Fossen taking over. Back row play was equally outstanding as Brook Camps and Kierra Johnson, the libero’s for Carlton and Cloquet respectively, spent much of the night diving and keeping balls in play.

At times, the game seemed to be as emotionally draining as the Twins versus Tigers game that many people were listening to on their radios in the stands. One team would gain the upper hand only to have the other team snatch it back and it was like riding a seesaw.

The atmosphere was electric because the quality of volleyball was tremendous and the fans were into it as they tried to rally their team to the win.

While stats were not readily available for the Bulldogs, the Jacks did have some outstanding numbers in the game. Konietzko finished with 14 kills and 13 digs, Katie Schulz had 15 kills and 18 digs, Keanna Karulak had 38 set assists, five ace serves and 21 digs, Kierra Johnson provided 27 digs, Maddie Kiehn recorded nine kills, Emily Fossen finished with eight kills and Skylar Scheer chipped in with 12 digs.

Kerry Rodd can be reached at Kerry@northlandsportsonline.com