Noxon takes Clark Fork, Idaho, to the limit

Down two sets, the Noxon Red Devils volleyball could have easily packed it in against Clark Fork, Idaho, Thursday night, but the scrappy team took the match to the limit.

Noxon was playing just its third match of the season while Clark Fork played its ninth (8-1).

Noxon ended up dropping its first match in two weeks in five sets to Clark Fork, but the Red Devils kept their fans pumped up as they played their neighbors to the west for the first time in about a decade.

Noxon athletic director Matt Havens said despite the close proximity of both schools, less than 30 minutes separate them on Montana 200, the two schools hadn’t met in a while.

Fortunately, this meeting was a thriller.

Longt-time head coach Dana Grupenhoff’s Red Devils fell behind in the first set, 3-0, before they rallied to go up 7-3. The run prompted Wampus Cats head coach Michelle Valliere to call timeout.

But the Red Devils built a 14-7 lead before the visitors rallied for a 25-22 win.

In the second match, the Wampus Cats jumped out to a 7-1 lead but true to their nature, the Red Devils kept battling. Junior Emily Brown’s service ace finally knotted the score at 17.

But Clark Fork regained control and won the match, 25-21.

The third set appeared to be a formality as the Wampus Cats grabbed a 6-1 lead, but Noxon again battled back to forge a tie at 14-14.

Senior Vanessa Horner’s big spike in the run to tie the set left the home fans in a frenzy.

Clark Fork quickly regained control, though, and led 21-16. Noxon rallied again to make it 23-23 and Clark Fork called timeout.

But freshman Seanna Richter kept the host team’s dreams alive with a service ace to end it, 27-25.

Buoyed by the hard-fought win, Noxon took a 6-1 lead. Then, back-to-back smashes by Riley Richter and Brown made it 12-6. It prompted another Clark Fork timeout.

It eventually tied the score at 20-20.

But Clark Fork didn’t score again as Noxon got aggressive at the net and scored the next five points. Horner started the match-closing run with a block, then served up two straight aces to make it 23-20.

A tip-in by Brown and a block by Aubrey Erwin finished the rally and gave the Red Devils the fourth set.

In the fifth, Noxon led 4-3 after Seanna Richter’s service ace, but Clark Fork dominated the rest of the way to get the win.

Statistically, Brown led the way with 10 kills, 22 assists and five aces. Horner had 10 kills, seven digs, five blocks and three aces.

Erwin had seven assists with five kills, five aces and three blocks. Riley Richter had 14 assists and eight kills while Mia Vogel had three kills and three assists.

The Red Devils were scheduled to host Superior Saturday evening as part of their homecoming festivities.