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Wolves lock down titles Ely claims Mesabi East tourney and IRC, Arrowhead crowns
The Ely Timberwolves are collecting championships like it’s going out of style.
A first-place finish at last month’s Greenway Tournament was only the beginning for the high school volleyball team.
Last weekend, Ely repeated as champions of the Mesabi East Tournament, although it survived a scare from rival North Woods along the way.
The Timberwolves claimed both the Iron Range Conference titles and the “big” division of the Arrowhead Conference as well, wrapping up both regular season crowns during the last two weeks.
A hectic late-season stretch continued Tuesday, as the Wolves roughed up Mt. Iron-Buhl 25-7, 25-6, 25-15 in less than an hour and improved to 22-3 on the year.
First-place trophies are nothing new to the Wolves, who not only have captured regular season and weekend tourney titles but have two straight Section 7A championships under their belts.
They’ll open defense of that 7A title and begin a quest for a third straight state tournament berth with an Oct. 23 home playoff date.
That’s the big prize the Wolves are chasing, but they’ve served notice during the regular season with their array of first-place finishes - despite a roster with numerous sophomores in the lineup.
Head coach Megan Wognum said her young but potent team is taking it all in stride.
“We try to leave it in the background,” Wognum said Tuesday. “We celebrate the wins but don’t let them consume us. We just like to go out one game at a time and move forward.”
Sophomore Audrey Kallberg had 12 kills and senior Clare Thomas delivered six aces in the home rout against MIB, which was Ely’s eighth contest in nine days.
Ely had much success at the serving line, coming up with 19 aces in three sets. Thomas led the way, although both Ruby Lowe and Makenzi Huntington added four each and Charlotte Hegman finished with three.
Senior standout Lilli Rechichi had eight kills to go with a couple of aces and sophomore setter Gretta Lowe dished out 31 set assists.
• The highlight of Ely’s recent run was a 4-0 stretch Saturday at Aurora.
While Ely downed Bigfork 2517, 25-12 in the title game, the big challenge came in pool play.
That’s where the Wolves hung on to beat North Woods 25-13, 21-25, 15-10.
“We started strong but they really came back in the second,” Wognum said of the Grizzlies. “We really showed up to block which was nice to see. They are a team that attacks the ball well.”
Rechichi made her presence felt once again at the net, hammering home 10 kills while also adding seven digs, three solo blocks and five ace serves.
Ely has been fueled all year by a potent offense and that was evident against the Grizzlies as Thomas had nine kills, Kallberg contributed five and Hegman, Amelia Penke and Gretta Lowe all contributed two.
Kallberg and Lilli Rechihci combined for 15 kills, with Gretta Lowe (six) and Sadie Rechichi (five) next in line.
Gretta Lowe also dished out 25 set assists.
Kallberg had eight kills and Lilli Rechichi finished with seven, and the hard-hitting combo also combined for 14 digs and five blocks in a 25-17, 25-17 pool play win against Northeast Range.
Gretta Lowe notched 28 set assists as Ely held off an improving Chisholm team 25-23, 25-22 in pool play.
Lilli Rechichi (11 kills) and Kallberg (nine) paced Ely on offense, while both Gretta Lowe and Peyton Huntington wound up with seven digs.
In the title game, six different Ely players had kills with Kallberg’s seven topping the list in a sweep against Bigfork.
Kallberg (nine digs), Lilli Rechichi (eight) and Thomas (seven) topped the list on defense and Sadie Rechichi came up with three ace serves.
• In Monday night’s rematch at Bigfork, the Huskies were better prepared on their home court but still came up short in a 25-20, 25-11, 25-19 Ely win.
Gretta Lowe had 35 set assists and Ely had to fight more on defense, with Kallberg, Hegman and Sadie Rechichi all coming up with a dozen digs.
Lilli Rechichi had another nine while also hammering home 12 kills.
Kallberg (seven), Hegman (six) and Thomas (five) were next on the kill chart and Gretta Lowe distributed the ball - coming up with 35 assists as well as six digs.
• This Monday’s regular season home finale with Cook County has an earlier start time than usual, with the varsity contest slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.
