Eagles show out on Pink Night

Some nights are just different. Pink Night for the Northland Pines varsity volleyball team not only ended in a 3-0 win over Great Northern Conference rival Rhinelander High School, but what looked like a capacity crowd showed out in pink attire in support of breast cancer awareness. The team used raffles to help raise money for “a good cause”, according to Head Coach Julie Smith. The Eagles also traveled to Medford to face the Raiders, which also ended in a 3-0 sweep.

Pines is now 21-9 overall and 4-2 in the GNC headed into a new week. The 4-2 conference record is good for third place.

The coaching staff said the team started a little more hesitantly than they usually do in the home Rhinelander match, which helped the Hodags hang around in the first set. Northland Pines squeaked out the opening set victory, 25-19.

“We started the match playing at a different level than what we are capable of. There were some really good plays mixed in with miscommunication and hesitation throughout the three sets,” noted Coach Smith.

The Eagles only got better from there and won the next two sets by double digits.

A hard-hitting duo of senior Kami Neff and sophomore Alyssa Kevilus, along with sophomore Payton Sullivan and senior Natalie Kohn, helped the Eagles to 25-14 and 25-10 wins to secure the sweep on offense. Neff and Kevilus had 11 kills, while Sullivan and Kohn collected six each.

Kohn led the Eagles at the net with three blocks as well. Defensively, Eden Smith and Neff recorded 13 digs each, with Lexi Maillette having 10. Lyla Lederer led the offense with 19 assists, while Sullivan added 13.
“It can be difficult to maintain your level of play in a lopsided match, but I was proud of the girls for pushing through the slow starts and finishing each set strong,” Coach Smith added.

Earlier in the week, the Eagles had another GNC contest against the Medford Raiders. The 3-0 sweep was a bounce-back conference win after a Merrill loss in five sets a few weeks ago. Pines won the straight-set match with scores of 25-16, 25-19 and 25-15.

Northland Pines opened the match with a 7-5 advantage and then went on a small run to lead 12-5. A few miss-hits from Medford and nice plays at the net for the Eagles sparked that run.

The Eagles later held firm control of the opening set, 23-16, before a pair of Medford errors gave the set to the Eagles at 25-16.

Momentum carried into the second as Northland Pines opened with the serve. The Eagles controlled the first four points before the Raiders got on the board. Pines then jumped out to a 10-3 advantage and pretty much controlled the pace the rest of the set. Medford did get back within four, 17-13, to keep things interesting, but Pines came out ahead 25-19 to hold a 2-0 set lead.

The third set was much the same, as the two sides battled closely early on until the Eagles pulled away and held a seven-to-eight point advantage through the middle and late part of the set. Pines held 14-8, 19-11 and 22-13 leads in the third, ahead of securing the sweep.

Pines will end its regular season with three matches on the road. The team played at Tomahawk this past Tuesday, and will then end the week at a GNC event at Mosinee High School this Saturday, Oct. 10, starting at 10 a.m. The last regular season match for the Eagles will be Thursday, Oct. 15.