Posen netters to host district tournament Saturday

It would be a happy day for the Viking volleyball team if they could win their first district title this Saturday, as the Posen netters host the tournament on their home court. The Vikings have been battling all season ? at times playing up to their potential and bringing home victories, and at times losing their focus on the overall goal ? to make the Viking volleyball program more powerful within its district and the NSL conference.

?WE ARE really looking to win our first district title, especially since it is going to be at home,? said coach John Dietlin. ?We are going to continue to do what we?ve been doing all year ? play our game. We are hoping to come out on top.? Posen?s biggest challenge on Saturday will be coming up against the Hillman Tigers. The Vikings beat Hillman at home earlier in the season ? winning the best three out of five games for the match. A second victory over the Tigers was not in the cards for the Red and White, and the Vikings added a tough loss to the books while on the road at Hillman. District games begin Saturday at 10 a.m. when the Fairview Eagles battle it out with the Atlanta Huskies. The winner of that game will take on the winner of the match between Posen and Hillman, which begins at about 11:30 a.m. The final championship match is set to take place around 1 p.m. Posen beat Fairview twice this season, and beat Atlanta once at home. They traveled to Atlanta Wednesday (after press time) for the last regular season match-up.

ON MONDAY night, the Vikings hosted Mackinaw City for a non-league game, winning 25-13, 25-17, and 25-21. Senior Jenny Ciarkowski started off game one with four ace serves to help her team jump out to a quick 4-0 lead. A Posen hitting error would give Mackinaw City the ball, but a kill from junior Kori Latz would send the ball right back into Viking possession. A short tip from setter Megan Pieczynski would give Posen a 16-8 lead over Mackinaw City, and a kill from Elyse Perrault would stretch that lead to 19-11. Junior Melissa Wekwert put the game to rest with a sharp ace serve, earning her team a 1-0 lead over Mackinaw City. Posen had a hard time focusing in game two, and trailed Mackinaw City 3-7 early on in the match-up. A kill from junior Beth King put Posen back in motion, and the Vikings battled back. Mackinaw C

ity fought back, tying the game at 13, but it was momentum they could not hold onto. A kill from senior Mary Calhoun, paired with two strong serves from Michelle Mulka would give Posen a second victory. Coach Dietlin gave his junior players an opportunity to shine in game three. Strong serving skills from the Vikings led to the match victory, including three consecutive aces from Kate Olsen. For Posen, Perrault had one ace, four assists, and one kill. Wekwert had four kills and two aces, while Ciarkowski had five aces. Calhoun had two aces, four kills, and three digs, while Pieczynski had one ace, and eight assists.

POSEN HOSTED Hale last Thursday, taking a tough loss in five games, 25-23, 17-25, 20-25, 25-21, and 10-15. For Posen, Calhoun had three aces, five kills, one block, and four digs. Ciarkowski had two aces, eight kills, and three digs. Olsen had five digs from the defensive end, and Pieczynski had 11 assists. The JV Vikings battled against Hale last Thursday, dominating the visiting team 25-15, 25-12, and 15-9. For the Vikings, freshman Janice Ciarkowski had three kills, one assist, one dig, and one ace serve. Sophomore Emily Smolinski had five aces, while freshman Autumn Pilarski had three ace serves. Sophomore Christina Bednarski had one kill, five assists, and one ace. Freshman Amanda Lenard had four kills and two ace serves, while sophomore Aleaha Reed had three kills. Sophomore Nicole Purol had one kill, three assists, one block, and one dig, while sophomore Victoria Wozniak had four ace serves.