The first two sets were fairly comfortable. The third set was a close one. All three went in favor of Munising on Sept. 26 as the Mustangs managed to take down visiting North Dickinson in straight sets, 2516, 25-17 and 26-24.
“Our goal tonight was to get off to a good start against North Dickinson, and we got off to a 9-3 start in set one and an 11-4 lead in set two,” Munising head coach Josh Cole said. “(Their head coach) Taylor Johnson does a great job with her program over there at North Dickinson. They really play well against tougher opponents. They are a very scrappy defensive team, and they have a fantastic setter in Raina Ledzian. They are a scary team when they get momentum in sets.”
The Mustangs had another solid performance by Addie Bowerman, as she had 11 kills, three blocks and four aces. Bailey Corcoran had eight kills and three blocks, and Carisa Deatsman held down the setter spot with 18 assists, two kills and five aces.
“Our defensive passers were fantastic again,” Cole said. “Kristin Joyner, Olivia Cotey and Tamryn Nolan are just straight ballin’ out in the back row for us the last two weeks. Knowing how dangerous North Dickinson can be with momentum on their side, I thought the ladies did a great job all night stopping their runs with timely kills or stops on defense. Looking to use this good momentum going into homecoming week.”
On Sept. 24, Munising earned a straight-sets win over Rapid River, 25-7, 25-10 and 25-21.
“We had two main objectives, and I thought the girls did a great job applying serving pressure as well as dominating the net,” Cole said. “We got some good contributions from subs throughout the match. It was great to see players like Ember Morrison, Janey Bellinger and Hayden Bayer get some good game reps and play well. All of our athletes have been working extremely hard in practice, and to reward them with some playing time was a big boost for the team in general.”
In the first set, Deatsman had a serving run of eight points, and Dayne Behning had one of seven to help them take control in that frame. Tamryn Nolan finished off the set with a sixpoint serving run.
For the night, Bowerman had seven kills, one block and three aces; Corcoran had four kills, two blocks and three aces; and Deatsman was good for 15 assists and five aces.
Munising was at home against North Central on Tuesday and was at seventh- ranked Crystal Falls Forest Park on Thursday. The Mustangs play at Ishpeming on Monday.
