Modeltowners cut down Maroons in straight sets

MENOMINEE — The Menominee High School girls volleyball team gathered steam as its non-conference match against Gwinn wore on but the Modeltowners were still able to secure a 3-0 sweep on Thursday.

Menominee started on shaky footing but managed to give Gwinn a scare as the Maroons settled into a rhythm.

Gwinn took the first set 25-11 but matters weren’t so easy in sets two and three despite the Modeltowners winning 25-15 and 25-17, respectively.

The Modeltowners jumped out to a quick 4-0 cushion and led by as much as eight before back-to-back aces from Abigail Streicher helped Menominee close the gap to 13-7.

Adeline Derwin responded with a pair of aces of her own as Gwinn reeled off five unanswered points to make it an 11-point affair before Brooklyn Sorensen iced matters with a pair of aces as part of a 5-0 closing run by the Modeltowners.

Set two began with a 3-3 deadlock before Gwinn opened up a 9-4 advantage. The Maroons battled back behind a block-kill by Ellysa Reidell and a trio of aces compliments of Grace Averill to take their first lead of the night at 12-11.

Gwinn (10-5-1 overall) quickly swung momentum back in its favor with a 9-1 run to close out the set, with only an errant serve giving the Maroons a brief reprieve.

The two teams once again battled to a stalemate in set three until a string of eight unanswered points pushed Gwinn in front 19-11.

Menominee put its resolve on full display as Ryann Milostan fired off four aces while Allison Schuettpelz added a pair of kills to draw the Maroons within one, but just as they had in the previous two sets, the Modeltowners finished on a 4-0 run to put matters on ice.

Up nextMenominee: The Maroons (1-8-1 overall) are at home against Stephenson on Tuesday at 6 p.m.