By Kerry Rodd
Cards are up, down
Bombers take down Cardinals, but C-W doesn't stay down long
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Dan Saletel
Barnum's Reese Miletich works to get a shot past Cromwell-Wright's Joselyn Jokinen during Thursday night's matchup in Barnum.
The Barnum volleyball team picked up an impressive win last Thursday when they downed Cromwell-Wright 3-2 in a thrilling five-set match in Barnum.
"It was a huge win for us over Cromwell," said Barnum coach Corina Newman. "The girls executed and played smart ball at times, but both teams were up and down like a roller coaster."
The Bombers took the first set of the match by a 25-17 score, but the Cards bounced back to win the next two sets 26-24 and 25-13 before Barnum responded in kind by winning the fourth set 25-7 and the tiebreaker 15-9.
"Either we were mentally in the game and we were able to play strong, or we just left mentally," said Cardinals coach Amy Granholm. "Barnum was scrappy and they were able to dig out our hits. We had a hard time finding a hole on their side of the court."
Brooke Doran ran the Bomber offense efficiently against the Cards by picking up 34 set assists. Both Alina Lekander and Lacie O'Leary were strong at the net for the Bombers as they picked up 12 and eight kills respectively.
"Serving and blocking was a big factor in the game. Our team is learning how to play together as a team and it's showing on the court," Newman said. "The atmosphere was great for both teams at our gym. It was an exciting match and there could be more excitement, as the playoffs are right around the corner."
On the other side of the net, the Cards got 12 kills and 12 digs from Shaily Hakamaki, 10 kills from Taya Hakamaki plus seven set assists and 11 digs from Andrea Pocernich.
"I was surprised by the outcome just for the fact that we do have mental lapses, but we always seem to get out of it when it matters," Granholm said.
Dan Saletel
Cromwell-Wright players celebrated a point against Barnum last week in a tight match that went to a tiebreaker. The Bombers prevailed in the final frame, 15-9.
"But this time it was different. Barnum seemed to pick up everything we gave them. We did have our good moments as well, but just not enough of them."
Tourney win
Over the weekend the Cardinals rebounded to win the Moose Lake-Willow River tournament by taking wins over Pierz, Hinckley-Finlayson, Cloquet and Isle.
Cromwell-Wright's record now stands at 16-4 on the season.
On Tuesday the Bombers defeated the Silver Bay Mariners 3-1 by scores of 25-15, 25-16, 18-25 and 25-21. Reese Miletich had a huge night with 13 kills and 19 digs for Barnum. Also with big performances for the Bombers were Kendal Miletich with eight kills and 12 digs, Brooke Doran with 36 set assists and Lacie O'Leary with nine kills.
Barnum's record is now 15-10 on the season.
