Devils down Cardinals for second place in conference

IRONWOOD - In defeating Wakefield-Marenisco 25-13, 25-20, 18-25 and 25-21, Ironwood upped its record to an impressive 15-4 and clinched second place in the Indianhead East Division with a 4-1 record on Thursday night.

The Cardinals finished in third place with a 3-2 record and neither team has beaten Mercer this year, which finished undefeated in conference play.

"This was a second-place game," Red Devil coach Lisa Graham said. We were strong in games one and two and definitely flat in games three and four. It was good to win but not our best volleyball. We had moments of solid team play and then went flat. Maybe we think this is easy. They (Wakefield-Marenisco) are young, but they don't quit. We're probably a little older and our seniors and older girls stepped up and showed good leadership."

Cardinal coach Jessica Novascone said W-M had its moments but couldn't quite overcome Ironwood.

"After the first game, we were not playing to our potential," Novascone said. "In the second game, we started playing better and then we won the third game. In the fourth set, it was 8-8. Ironwood's a great team. I'm proud of the team and they're proud of themselves. We didn't give up. Volleyball is a game of momentum. You get the momentum, give it up and then try to get it back."

Ironwood's Amanda Kytola started the game with a service ace, but Ironwood hit the ball into the net and junior Lauren Grace blocked a Emily DiGiorgio hit. The Devils had a shot go long and then Hallee Yon aced Ironwood as W-M went up 4-1.

But Ironwood came back as Sarah Johnson served two aces and Mariah Beaudette pounded out two kills as Ironwood took the lead, 13-7.

DiGiorgio was warming up and her two kills and Katie Erickson's two serving points gave Ironwood a commanding 22-12 advantage and the Devils finished off W-M 25-13.

Game two was tied at 5-5 and 9-9, but the Cardinals pulled away to take a 16-10 lead. Ironwood answered back when Beaudette made a fake kill shot and put a soft shot into an open spot on the court. Johnson nailed an ace and Beaudette rained down two more kills. When W-M air-mailed a shot long, the Red Devils took a 22-19 lead and soon finished out the set at 25-20.

In game three, Ironwood used its power game with Beaudette and DiGiorgio to open up an 8-5 lead. But the Hallee Yon made a great shot that nipped the back line and Darienne Korpi came through with an ace. Ironwood hit two shots long and W-M had fought back to tie the game at 10-10.

Ironwood made mistakes by hitting shots into the net or long and when Grace served an ace off an Ironwood defender's hands, the W-M lead was 20-15.

The Cardinals had come alive and Ironwood misfires and Korpi's ace gave the third set to W-M 25-18.

The fourth set saw momentum quickly swing back to the Red Devils. Rachel Hudacek served seven straight winning points, but Maria Berquist hit a kill and a Grace ace tied the set at 8-8.

Cardinal Cora Zorich served three consecutive points, mostly on Devil errors. But down the stretch, the excellent passes of Erickson to Beaudette and especially DiGiorgio allowed Ironwood to pull away and win 25-21.

Grace did it all for the Cardinals as she slammed 12 kills, eight blocks and seven digs. Novascone noted that teams do not have eight blocks in one game. Hallee Yon added five aces, seven digs and two aces. Cora Zorich came up with 27 digs.

"That's the best I've seen Cora play," Novascone said. "She had some great digs against Emily DiGiorgio and pulled us up and inspired our team."

The Red Devils totaled 54 kills in the match, which proves what a power team they can be.

Beaudette led with 23 kills followed closely by DiGiorgio's 19 and Johnson notched eight kills. Erickson showed her worth as a setter by dishing out 34 assists to go with four kills. Johnson and DiGiorgio both served three aces and Beaudette chipped in with two.

Ironwood won the junior varsity games 25-12 and 25-15.

The Cardinals and Red Devils will both play in the Hurley Fall Classic this weekend.