Wolves spike section opponents

Ely’s high school volleyball team may be rounding into midseason form.The Timberwolves won five of six matches last week, finishing second in a Sept. 18 tournament at Cromwell and scoring impressive home sweeps over Iron Range rivals Mesabi East and Chisholm.Ely battled back from a slow start, rallied in both the first and second games and swept Mesabi East 25-23, 25-21, 25-12 Thursday at the high school gymnasium.Exchange student Rafaela Cavalcante led the way with 10 kills and four ace serves, and Ely (8-4) had an efficient performance, especially in the third game.“Our passing was a little off in the first two games, but we had excellent passing in the third game of the match,” said Ely Head Coach Mindy LaTourell. “It really made the difference. It was a much cleaner game on our part.”Mesabi East led for part of the first game, and the teams exchanged leads in game two, but the Wolves prevailed in both contests.Sophomore Barb Klun set up the attack with 24 set assists. She finished with four ace serves, as well.Ely hammered the Giants in game three, completing the sweep in easy fashio.“It was a lot of fun watching us in the third game,” said LaTourell. “A lot of people did nice jobs for us. Jessie Loisel made some nice serves, some other people got their serves in. It was a good win for us.”Christa Streit had five kills and six ace serves and teammate Jackie Lekatz wound up with six kills and three ace serves. Other statistical leaders were Kelsey Ivancich (four ace serves), Jill Meier (two ace serves, two kills) and Loisel (two ace serves, one kill).Chisholm couldn’t catch up with the Wolves’ serves Monday night, and Ely rolled 25-19, 25-13, 25-17.Streit had 13 kills to go with five ace serves, and Cavalcante had nine kills and nine aces.Klun had seven aces, as well as 24 assists, and Lekatz finished with three aces.Both the Chisholm and Mesabi East victories were pivotal for the Wolves for Section 7AA playoff seeding.• The Wolves had a big day at Cromwell, downing the host Cardinals, Isle and Floodwood en route to the title game of the one-day tournament.Cotton beat the Wolves in the finals.“It was tough to lose to Cotton but we played well and a lot of girls stepped up,” said LaTourell. “Carlotta (Rodino) sprained her ankle in the first match so she was out and a lot of other girls got some quality minutes on the floor.”