No athletes are busier than the girls who play volleyball for Cook County High School. Not with the practice time, game time and travel time the girls spend to play their sport.
That said, the girls played their first game of the season on August 28 against Duluth Marshall and lost 3-1 to the double A school. Two days after the team lined up to play mighty Esko at home, another 2A school, and lost 3-0.
An 0-2 start might not have been what new head coach Marlene Wester envisioned, but she has a young team led by seniors Alysa Fenstad Lashinski, Sophie Eliasen, and Reilly Wahlers, who are all returning starters from last year’s state qualifying squad. Trying to find team chemistry and gain consistency will be a key for the young Vikings to have a winning season.
Speaking of team chemistry, the Vikings took a step in the right direction in their recent match against North Shore rival Silver Bay Mariners.
The Vikings first win of the season came against the Mariners on Tuesday, September 4, at Silver Bay and it was a thriller. After taking the first game 25-18, the Vikings had to dig deep to win the next two games 26-24, 26-24.
Leading the squad was Alyssa Fenstad Lashinski with 14 kills and 11 digs. Sophie Eliasen finished with 21 digs, Reilly Wahlers had 13 digs and Bianca Zimmer 15 set assists. Abbie Crawford had a nice stretch of serving in the third game to help her team come from a deficit to a three-point lead.
“This was good match between North Shore rivals,” said Wester. “We are getting better every game. I’m seeing improvement each game from the girls.”
The Vikings traveled to play Moose Lake/Willow River on Thursday, Sept. 6, after press time. On Tuesday the team hops on the bus to travel to Mountain Iron Buhl and then gets to play in front of a home crowd on Thursday, September 13 against South Ridge.
Come out and cheer for your Vikings!
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