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Back-to-back state tournament trips have raised the bar for Ely’s high school volleyball program.
The success has boosted program turnout and offseason participation and preparation, and the return of several athletes with varsity experience have lifted both hopes and expectations for the 2024 season, which begins with Monday’s home debut against Deer River.
“The mindset is super upbeat,” said Ely Head Coach Megan Wognum. “The goal of course is to get as far as we can and we’re really focusing on filling some spots that we lost while making sure we go one game or one day at a time.”
After winning the Section 7A title for the first time in 2022, the Wolves repeated last fall while going 28-6 and bringing home the state consolation title from St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center.
Four players who played a big part in that success seniors Lilli Rechichi and Clare Thomas along with juniors Audrey Kallberg and Charlotte Hegman - all
2024 Ely Timberwolves Volleyball Schedule
Monday: Deer River
Tuesday: at Greenway
Sept. 3: Littlefork-Big Falls
Sept. 5: Cherry
Sept. 7: at Greenway Tourney, 9:30 a.m.
Sept. 9: at Chisholm
Sept. 12: Mesabi East Sept. 17: Int. Falls
Sept. 20-21: at Class A Showcase, Burnsville
Sept. 24: at Dul. Marshall
Sept. 30: at Northeast Range
Oct. 1: at North Woods
Oct. 5: at Mes. East Tourney
Oct. 7: at Bigfork
Oct. 8: Mt. Iron-Buhl
Oct. 10: at Nash.-Kee.
Oct. 14: Cook County
Oct. 15: Arrowhead Conf. Title Game, TBD Home games in bold; Game time 7 p.m. unless noted return and give Ely one of the most potent hitting attacks in Section 7A if not all of Class A.
The six-foot Rechichi led all Ely players with 376 kills, including 14 in Ely’s Section 7A title-clinching victory over Floodwood.
Rechichi also drove home 35 ace serves to go with 217 digs, and she posed a major obstacle up front against opposing hitters, coming up with 74 total blocks for the year.
Thomas came on strong at the end of the 2023 season, reaching double digits in kills in both of Ely’s two state tournament victories, including 19 in a consolation round win over Badger-Greenbush-Middle River.
Kallberg also developed into a formidable hitter while Hegman came off the bench and was part of Ely’s state tournament rotation.
The Wolves, however, need to fill a setting position held the last three years by All-Arrowhead Conference honoree Sarah Visser.
Sophomore Amelia Penke, junior Makenzi Huntington and sophomore Gretta Lowe are all in the running for that job.
“It is a really big hole to fill and we do have some options,” said Wognum. “We have Gretta and Amelia and Makenzi right now.”
All three setters were tested last weekend, as the Wolves scrimmaged several foes at Hibbing.
Junior Sadie Rechichi also returns for the Wolves, and an 11-player varsity roster is rounded out by sophomores Peyton Huntington, Ruby Lowe and Lydia Shultz.
The Wolves have been busy since the 2023 season came to a close.
Numerous Ely players were part of club teams or Ely-based AAU squads, while the Wolves’ varsity team won an Iron Range summer league.
The success in Ely’s program runs deep, with the varsity collecting 58 wins over the last two seasons and the junior varsity team winning all but one contest last fall.
The success has built the desire to keep Ely’s run going.
“I think a strength for this team is we have some good leaders with a lot of experience,” said Wognum, who begins her fourth season as head coach. “They have an open, positive mindset, and I think that’s because they’ve been to the state tournament a couple of times and they know what to expect a little bit more and they want it more. They are pushing the younger ones to want to put the time in and button up things we need to fix.”
The regular season schedule again includes a September trip to the Twin Cities and a spot in the invitation-only Class A Showcase, which features most of the top programs in the state.
This week’s slate includes not only the opener with Deer River but Tuesday’s trip to Class AA Greenway, which perennially has one of the Iron Range’s top programs.
“I think it will be good for us,” said Wognum. “We start with Deer River and we’re going one game at a time but it’s good to see a team we wouldn’t normally see, and a team that can challenge us right away and will show our weaknesses.”
Wognum is assisted by Randi Walker, while Kayci Zorman-Muhvich and Kalley Fischer lead the junior high program.
Monday’s home slate with Deer River includes both varsity and junior varsity games in the Memorial Gymnasium, while the new gymnasium features an eighth-grade game at 5:30 p.m., followed by a seventh-grade contest.
