Patriots doom Panthers

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Nov. 6, 1998

By Devlyn Brooks

For a few fleeting moments Thursday, you could see the sparkle of the unimaginable in the eyes of Cass Lake Panther setter Tanya Church.

The Panthers had just taken a 2-1 lead over favored Win-E-Mac in the volleyball Section 8A semifinals at BSU, and the momentum was theirs.

The Panther fans were raucous -- screeching, "Slay the dragon. Slay the dragon."

Cass Lake's coaches were ecstatic, and the Panthers' players were wired.

But one only needed to look into Church's eyes to feel the excitement.

It was the look of the Panthers being on the verge of snapping a 13-year streak of reaching the section playoffs but going no further -- many of the times Win-E-Mac being the one to end their season -- a look of sheer joy at the possibility of ending the long nightmare.

But fate played another cruel joke on the Panthers as just as quickly as they had won games two and three, the Patriots calmly bounced back with a 15-9 win in the fourth game.

The Patriots also cruised in the deciding game five, as they garnered an 8-0 lead with a seven-point rally behind senior hitter Leah Salvhus' serve.

Behind the strength of seniors Church, Heather Eidsmore and Sianneh Mulbah, though the Panthers courageously fought back.

With Mulbah slamming down several key spikes from the outside, Cass Lake managed to draw to within 9-6.

The Panthers' crowd was back in the match, sort of, and a glimmer of the spark was back in Church's eyes.

But 1998 wasn't to be the year of Panthers either, as the battle wary Patriots closed out the match 15-6 in the fifth set.

"The girls played really well tonight, but they did get a little tired (in the fifth game)," Cass Lake coach Nettie Homer said. "This was as well as they played any time this year. They played with a lot of heart."

Their experience did it -- the experience of a playoff-seasoned team and the experience of a powerful program that has won eight section tournament since 1985.

The Panthers, by contrast, looked haggard in the end. The two hours of a rollercoaster-like match finally wore them down, and in the end they couldn't compete with Win-E-Mac's on-court savvy.

The Patriots advanced to the Section 8A final scheduled at BSU Saturday night. They will face Crookston, which beat Roseau 3-1 in a quick match in the other semifinal at BSU Thursday.

Mulbah, a senior outside hitter, led the Panthers with 13 kills, five of which scored points in crucial games four and five. And Eidsmoe, a senior middle hitter, followed with 12 kills.

Church, the team's setter and on-court leader, had seven kills, four service aces and 42 set assists.

Senior outside hitter Tessa Johnson scored a double-double for the Patriots, gaining 18 kills, 23 digs and five service aces.

Leah Salvhus had 19 kills to lead the team, and Sandy Brekke, a senior middle hitter, added 14 kills and eight blocks. Defensive specialist Julie Pearce added 28 digs in the back row, and setter Kim Rock had 47 set assists and six blocks.

"(Cass Lake) served very aggressively, and they focused really well," Johnson said. "We tried not to take them for granted. We've beaten them eight, nine or 10 times in a row, and things can get that way. Maybe we did take them for granted."

Cass Lake will end its season Saturday at 6:30 p.m. when it faces the Roseau Rams in the section third-place match. The title match will be played at 8 p.m.