The 2011
women’s volleyball team ended a long season of ups and downs on a positive
note. “The odd thing about this is that we won seventy sets and lost seventy sets, which
is a commentary of how our season went. We are glad we didn’t lose any more but
wish we could have won a few more as well,” Coach Herron explained, summarizing the season. Northland hosted Finlandia University, Cardinal Stritch,
and Gogebic Community during the last week of the season.
Northland controlled the match
against the Lions of Finlandia on Tuesday night, October 18; scores were 25-11, 25-16, and 25-20. Marissa Hawley and Ellie Hodak were the
leading attackers with seven and five kills respectively. Alyse Sugimoto had twenty-three
assists. Captain Melissa Moisant commented, “We have been working on playing solid
defense and being ready to convert at the net. It is sometimes hard when the
opposition doesn’t return the ball.” Moisant had twelve digs in this match.
On Friday
evening, the Lady Pioneers welcomed Cardinal Stritch University. The Wolves
are a rising NAIA program with scholarship-quality athletes. Knowing that this skilled team would test the Pioneers as they prepare for their Midwest Regional Tournament, Coach Herron said, “There are things I absolutely cannot control. I cannot do anything
about a height difference, speed difference, or talent separation. There are
things, though, that we can control that do not involve any ability at all.
Effort, desire, and focus take no talent or ability whatsoever!” However, the Lady
Pioneers, with many hitting errors, few kills, a lack of solid block, and a weak defense, lost to Cardinal Stritch 16-25, 6-25, and 15-25.
The second
opponent of the tri-match on Friday was Gogebic College (GC). This was the last
regular season match and the final match of senior Ellie Hodak’s career. Coach
Herron challenged the team to play with an "All In/All Out" attitude. In the first set, the Pioneers jumped to an early 12-3 lead. Good defense and a balanced offense
helped Northland gain a 25-15 win, with Valerie Stauff putting two straight kills
to the floor at the end. In set two, Northland gained a 21-12 lead. Marissa
Hawley went to the service line and scored three consecutive aces to push the team
to a 25-12 win. GC kept the score close in the third set, until Alyse Sugimoto began to freeze the GC block; outside hitter Valerie
Stauff and Ellie Hodak scored repeatedly to push the lead to 21-9. A series of
ball handling errors and strong Northland serving gave a 25-12 win to the Pioneers.The next
time Northland plays will be in the NCCAA Midwest Regional Tournament.
Northland
International University will enter the Midwest Regional Tournament as the #4 seed and will play
Kuyper College in the first round. If the Pioneers win, they will
play the #1 seed and host Maranatha Baptist Bible College next Friday, October 28, at 6:30 p.m.