Vikings have no trouble advancing this year

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Already the post season run of the 2010 Posen volleyball team has gone one game further than last year, which brought a small measure of relief early this week. The Vikes (20-4-4), who downed Hale in three at the Class District D district tournament at Hillman Monday, entered the ’09 tournament as the clear favorite, but were shown the door on the first night by a scrappy Hillman squad.

Posen was expected to win against a Hale team they handled during the regular season, and this year, they sent a team packing 25-18, 25-8 and 25-20. ?It’s always nice to get that first one out of the way,? said head coach John Dietlin. ?(Last year) we came in as the favorites and kind of crumbled under the pressure. When you can get that first one out of the way, confidence breeds confidence.? ?It’s nice to get the monkey off our back,? said senior Leanne Buczkowski.

WITH HALE out of the way, the Vikes could turn all their focus to the team that knocked them out. ?That’s what we’re going to work for,? Buczkowski said. The game was Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., past press time. The winner will advance to Saturday morning’s district championship.

Posen dictated the pace and trailed only once, at the beginning of the third game when the Eagles took a short-lived 2-0 lead, but then proceeded to give up the next eight to a Posen squad, which dominated and wouldn’t be denied. The match lasted only 60 minutes. Buczkowski contributed several points as the Vikings built an early 13-3 lead in game one. She had the first of three kills through the hands of a blocker, and added two aces and another kill in the run. Her kill total was five.

Fellow seniors Lindsay Ponik and Lindsey Bartz also helped to pad the lead. Ponik had two aces and a quick tip, while Bartz had her first of a team-leading seven kills. The Vikings would carry the 10-point lead until late. B PAIGE LEWANDOWSKI started game two with three straight aces. Tracy Mulka?s kill made it 7-2, in a game of

runs all favoring the Vikes. The final was 5-0 to close it out. LeAnn Strzelecki had two of her three aces at the start of game three. Ponik and Buczkowski added aces, while Bartz and Mulka powered kills to build a 12-6 lead.

Down the stretch, Hale fought for their share of points, but they were missing a senior due to illness. Lewandowski ended with four aces, Ponik had eight assists, while Anna Couture had seven assists. Strzelecki and Lewandowski both had four digs apiece. Saturday?s district final begins at 10 a.m. The district winner plays in the Pellston regional tournament Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The Vikings won their final regular season game last Thursday over Fairview, 25-6, 25-16 and 25-4. The girls finished 12-2 in second place in the North Star League. Emily Delekta had four kills, while Ponik fired eight aces. On Oct. 27, Posen took Rogers City to the brink in the finals of the Presque Isle Championships in their own gym, but dropped the final, 15-12.

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