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Wolves reach 7A finals Defending champs will meet Bigfork for spot in state tourney
Dozens of Ely High School students donned hardhats and construction vests Wednesday night at Rock Ridge in the latest in a series of dress-up nights by the often boisterous fans of the Timberwolves’ volleyball team.
The garb proved fitting, as the team was workmanlike en route to a 25-12, 25-16, 25-13 sweep of South Ridge in the Section 7A semifinals. Ely, now 26-3, moves on to a 7A championship game showdown against Bigfork, which stunned Floodwood in a five-set thriller to open the 7A semifinal twinbill.
Saturday’s final is set for 2 p.m., at Hermantown, as the Wolves gun for a third straight championship and a trip to this week’s state tournament in St. Paul.
The semifinal clash with South Ridge was the fourth with the Panthers in as many seasons and the easiest of the bunch.
It had a “been there, done that,” feel for the Wolves who jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening set and never looked back.
“They were ready and they wanted it more than anything and I think they got their nerves out of the way early,” said head coach Megan Wognum.
While the Bigfork-Floodwood clash had the fans on the edge of their seats, there was no similar drama as the Wolves picked apart the Panthers.
“I think the game before set the tone for us, which is kind of weird,” said Wognum. “It’s nice to see someone can come back from behind and win and I think that was a little motivating for us. We haven’t had a lot of competitive games and it’s nice to be able to see that.” The Wolves maintained a double digit lead for most of the opening set, but the second set was the most competitive of the three.
Ely again got off to a lead, saw it cut to 14-12, then turned things on with an 11-4 run to close things out.
The Wolves rattled off at least eight straight points with senior standout Lilli Rechichi on serve in the third, and the sweep was secured.
Rechichi, who was named to the Class A All-State Team earlier in the week (see related story) had 10 kills to lead the way and has had double-digits in kills in all three Ely playoff victories.
Senior Clare Thomas and sophomore Charlotte Hegman recorded eight kills each and sophomore Audrey Kallberg added another half-dozen.
Setter Gretta Lowe, a sophomore, distributed the ball well and notched 34 set assists to go with 13 digs.
Both Rechichi (12) and Thomas (10) reached dobule figures in digs and Payton Huntington notched two ace serves.
The Wolves may have to guard against overconfidence in the final.
While Bigfork knocked off both North Woods and Floodwood to get to the final, Ely has swept the Huskies twice this month.
Wognum is nonetheless wary of the matchup.
“We’ve played them twice and I know they’re feisty but I know we can find ways to pick them apart and capitalize on our offense,” said Wognum. “Our mental state will be most important. We need to come mentally ready on Saturday. There will be a lot of nerves.
• The 7A champion moves on to the state tournament and will play a quarterfinal game at either 5 or 7 p.m. Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center.
Play continues there the next two days.
• Ely advanced to the semfinals by downing Chisholm 25-15, 25-8, 25-9.
Rechichi led with 15 kills and 13 digs as well as four solo blocks.
The Wolves never let the Bluestreaks in the game and put the contest away early.
Kallberg added 10 kills and 11 digs while Thomas finished with seven kills and nine digs.
Lowe passed her way to 31 set assist and had two of the team’s 12 ace serves.
Huntington served ou four aces and Sadie Rechichi notched three.
