Pines volleyball finish season in 2nd place;

When the Northland Pines volleyball team was working through preseason practice a few months ago, the Eagles had some goals in mind.

The biggest one was winning a Great Northern Conference (GNC) game; something they had not done the season before.

The Eagles had nine returning letterwinners and Julie Smith was back to coach for her 13th season. Things started slowly, and the Eagles took some tough losses. But senior leadership, hard work and good coaching showed the way.

Around midseason, Pines was winning dual meets and challenging at invitationals. 

This past weekend, the girls were runners-up at the Wausau West Invitational, winning five of eight sets to finish in second place.

“I think the girls are as prepared as they can be, showing grit and a strong desire to win,” stated Coach Smith. “This is a tough group of girls, and they also have great team chemistry.”  

The Eagles finished the regular season at 3-and-4 in the GNC and were voted as the third seed in their Division 3 Regional playoff bracket.

Northland Pines will meet sixth-seeded Colby at home on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. Pines lost to Colby in a tiebreaker in their first invitational of the season at the end of August.   

The winners in the Tuesday game will play at second-seeded Stratford on Thursday at 7 p.m.