By Ellen Shuster

On Monday, Oct. 6, the North Woods gym was filled with flamboyant shades of pink and creative costumes as the volleyball teams hosted the Nashwauk-Keewatin Spartans for their annual “Dig Pink” event raising money and awareness for those suffering from breast cancer. As the games got underway, fans could vie for a number of incredible raffle prizes thanks to this year’s organizer, Allison Thiel, and her team of amazing volunteers. At the end of the night when asked about how the event had gone, Thiel responded, “Each year we have tremendous support from local businesses and our community. Each year we have new people come up and say, ‘Please add me to the list for a donation next year.’ And for that, I am very thankful.”

In the gym, the 7th grade started the night off with a win of 2-0 (25-12, 25-14). The 8th grade and JV teams had almost identical games with incredibly close sets, but ultimately losing with the 8th grade scoring 1-2 (23-25, 27-25, 9-15) and the JV scoring 1-2 (23-25, 25-23, 8-15). Finally, after unfortunately falling out of first place last week, the varsity won their match with a score of 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-13).

In the first set of the match, the Grizzlies hit the ball long to lose the first point to the Spartans. However, they came back with the next five points and settled into a comfortable lead which they kept the whole set. The Grizzlies had good pace and looked comfortable and confident in their play. There were a few long rallies, but North Woods kept their focus.

In set two, North Woods took the first three points, but couldn’t shake their opponents who stayed close behind. The spacing was a little off for the Grizzles and they couldn’t achieve the same crispiness as they had in the first set. The Spartans were able to tie at 17-17. This finally brought some focus back to the Grizzlies and they were able to win Set 2.

Set 3 began poorly as the first pass went straight into the net. However, it was dug out and sent back to the Spartans’ side for a North Woods point. This became the feel of the last set as bad plays were converted into points that the Spartans didn’t have an answer for.

As conference games wrap up, the Grizzlies will start preparing for playoffs.