The stage is set for the Section 3AA volleyball championship match, in which our high-flying Tigers will vie. Coach Kristi Fehr will lead her proud orange and black unit into action at 6 p.m. Saturday at Southwest MN State, Marshall. The challenge is great. Our opponent Marshall is ranked No. 9 in state. They also have the "Tigers" nickname. Marshall's Tigers are ranked No. 2 in Volleyball Hub Class AA rankings. They have been flawless in post-season action so far, not dropping a single game.
But they'll surely have to take our Tigers seriously. We're fresh from a 3-1 win in the 3AA semis over Paynesville. It was our 21st win of the season against five losses.
At Marshall we'll be seeking our third straight state tournament berth. We were consolation champions in last year's state affair. Marshall has six state titles under its belt. Wow! Oh, those Tigers have finished runner-up five times too. Over the past 40 years, Marshall has been in state 26 times.
The orange and black will surely rule on Saturday, whether it's MACA's version of those colors or Marshall's.
Paynesville was no slouch to overcome. With a record well over .500, the green-themed Bulldogs were a worthy opponent on Thursday at Minnewaska. Games 1 and 2 were quite suspenseful as both ended in a 25-23 score. MACA took the first game and Paynesville the second. We came on strong in the third game to win 25-13, then we edged the Bulldogs 25-22 in the fourth and last game. Paynesville ended its season with an 18-8 mark.
Three Tigers each batted one serving ace at the Bulldogs: Karly Fehr, Jenna Howden and Riley Decker. Fehr was sharp as usual in setting, accumulating 42 assists. Two Tigers had double figures in kills: Jenna Howden with 20 and Jenna Larsen with ten. The list continues with Kenzie Hockel (5), Lexi Pew (4), Bailey Marty (4) and Fehr (3).
Here's the list of ace block contributors: Pew (4), Larsen (3), Hockel (3), Howden (2) and Fehr (1). Decker was tops in digs as she typically is, on this day accomplishing 24. Marty had 19 digs, Fehr 12 and Howden six.
For Paynesville, Jenna Lundquist had a serving ace. Molly Stang was busy as setter for the green, picking up 25 assists while Lundquist scurried around to contribute 19. A pair of Bulldogs co-led in kills with 12: Skylar Bayer and Abby Schaefer. Jacquelyn Hoeft pounded down eleven kills. Their list in this category continues with Brynn Johnson (5), Stang (4), Lundquist (4) and Ashley Ley (4).
Hoeft and Megan Utsch each had a blocking ace. Olivia Riley was the cog in digging for the green with 33. Beyer had 19, Stang 12, Schaefer ten and Lundquist eight.
Football ends season
I review the Tigers' football game vs. Pillager on my "Morris of Course" site (my companion website). Highlights were few as we bowed to the powerful Huskies at Pillager. This post also reviews the volleyball team's 3-1 win over Litchfield in the debut match of post-season. We had a bye prior. Click on the link below. Thanks for reading. - B.W.
http://morrisofcourse.
Winter nears, inevitably
Prolonged volleyball success helps keep our mind off the inevitable arrival of winter.
Prior to the fall season, a nice schedule page on slick paper was distributed by the Morris paper. However, am I correct in assuming that this feature went only to people who buy the paper? Up until recently, the paper might have distributed the schedule with the free "Ad-Viser." Man, the paper used to distribute a lot of those, almost like pollution, but it ceased to exist. The Ad-Viser is no more. That can only be a negative for advertisers. Less is certainly not more in this case.
Unless special provisions were made, the MACA fall sports schedule flyer went only to people who buy the Morris paper, and that is a very limited number of people. That circle gets smaller all the time. Perhaps some "sponsors" could arrange a direct mailing of that flyer to reach many more households? It would be a PR plus for the school district.
I imagine it won't be long before a winter schedule is prepared and distributed. But to how many people? The staggering decline of the Morris newspaper product is becoming a community issue. Let's all be proactive and try to harness the new media, the web, in an optimal way. You don't need me suggesting that to you.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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