Ashland Tournament

From the Spooner Advocate:

Ashland tournament 

On Saturday Spooner traveled to Ashland for a tournament. Five varsity players were gone. Spooner coaches asked JV players to step up and they did.

“We were extremely proud of the nine players that were there,” said Coach Smith. “Taylor Shutt did an excellent job passing and digging all day. Meagan VanderHeyden was big on the net and will continue to be a leader as our only senior. Mariah Skogstad, a starting JV middle, did a phenomenal job blocking and hitting for us.

“Many teams had hard hitters, and this was greatly needed. Emmie Bassett stepped into a new middle rotation. Carson Johannes is one of our left side hitters and was able to get her hand on many of the hard hits that came our way. Aspen Mullikin stepped up as a middle server, with a very hard swing. Hannah Kastner filled a much-needed position when our starting setter, Kayla Boutwell, was moved to right side hitter. Emily Peoples helped out at left side hitter.

“While we did not win a match all day, I can say I was very impressed with how well our girls talked, transitioned, and worked together as a team with not ever stepping onto the court as a team before Saturday.”

Spooner results

“Match one was very difficult after an early start to the day,” said Coach Smith. “We lost 5-25 and 11-25 to Washburn. In match two we played Northland Pines. They were a tough team with some hard hitters. We rallied together though in game one and won 25-23. It was a huge win for our team. We played hard and played together. We lost our footing in game two to lose 6-25. Even though we played hard in game three, we fell 9-15. Beating Northland Pines in game one was a great success for us, because we were the underdog.

“We had a long break before match three, which hurt us. We came out pretty quiet, and although we worked hard we lost this match 9-25 and 11-25. 

“Although we lost all three matches, I would say that our team learned a lot about working together, communication, serving, and defense. We will take these lessons and work on them in practice.”

You can find pictures of our tournament by clicking here. Pictures taken by Brady Johannes.