Lady Bobcats outlast Noxon in volleyball showdown

The the tumultuous world that is Class C volleyball around these parts, you can have a really good week by winning one of two games.

In some cases win them both and its time to starting clearing the dust off that special spot in the trophy case.

By those standards, it was a pretty good week for the Superior Lady Bobcats volleyballers, who traveled to Noxon Thursday and washed it down with a splash of Charlo the next night.

The good news: the Lady Bobcats won a knock-down, drag-out five-setter versus Noxon, while the not-as-good news was they did what everyone else in the Western 14C volleyball conference has done, lose to league leader Charlo.

First the good news. Going to Noxon is not exactly an afternoon picking strawberries for visiting teams.

So the Lady Bobcats 3-2 match win over the Lady Red Devils this past Thursday was a really good way to get things started.

In a match volleyball fans knew would be a humdinger, Superior opened the show with a tight, hard-fought 25-22 win over the Devils and the subsequent 1-0 match advantage.

Then, as the statisticians may have forecast, Noxon bounced back on its home court and returned the favor, winning set two 25-23, thereby knotting the match at one each.

When it was time for the pivotal third set of the match, something weird happened: one team blew the other out the door.

And much to the chagrin of local volleyball lovers, that team was the visiting Lady Cats, who put together an awesome game three, winning 25-13 to tilt the match in their favor 2-1.

So how tight was it overall? Game four went to the home team by a volleyball “overtime” count of 27-25. Match squared at two.

Bring on set five, everyone tighten the velcro a little bit more.

And in a fifth set decider that could easily have gone either way, Superior had just enough at the end of the night to secure a 15-12 game five victory, which clinched the match in their favor, 3-2.

This one had some sparkling stars and stats. Noxon’s senior standout Emily Brown led the way with three service aces, 15 kills, 18 asssists, three blocked shots and six digs. Rumors she also worked at the concession stand between sets turned out to be unfounded..

And she got plenty of help from her teammates. Maygan Swanson had four aces, nine kills, one assist, seven blocks and 11 digs, while Callie Cano chipped in six aces, eight kills, five assists and nine digs.

On the other side of the net, Broke Bibler contributed 18 assists to the winning Bobcat effort, while Trinity Donaldson added 16 digs.

Maybe the hidden “good thing” about the Superior-Noxon match was that it would be hard to top as far as action and solid volleyball play, but Superior gave it a go at home the next night when unbeaten Charlo came to town.

The Lady Vikings showed why they are atop the conference and have not lost a match this year when they took set number one 25-15. But then Superior, whom you would be fair in thinking might be a little worn out from the battle in Noxon, tied the match with a 25-22 game two win.

But Charlo used its experience and height to wear down the Lady Bobcats, winning games three and four by scores of 25-18 and 25-16 respectively. That added up to a 3-1 match win for Charlo, while the loss dropped Superior to 5-3 on the year and 4-2 in 14C action.

One outstanding mark among the disappointment of losing the match lie in the 27 digs and nine kills recorded by Superior senior Payton Milender. She was joined in double figure stats by junior Lanie Crabb who had 11 kills and 11 digs, while Donaldson chipped in 19 digs and Bibler piled up 13 assits.

Next up for Superior is a match this Tuesday (tonight) at home when they take on Alberton. They are then scheduled to travel to Charlo two nights later (Thursday) before wrapping up their week with a Saturday game at Two Eagle River.