The North Branch and Rush City volleyball teams are off to hot starts so far this season, each posing as a big threat in their respective sections this year.
The Vikings sit in fourth-place in the Mississippi 8 Conference standings, while holding a strong 13-2 record and a 1-0 record in conference. Meanwhile for the Tigers, the squad is 12-3 overall and are in sole possession of first-place in the Great River Conference.
The Vikings most recently grabbed a 3-0 road win over Duluth Denfeld on Tuesday, Sept. 17, before the Tigers participated in a Midwest Volleyball Showcase tournament on Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21.
Rush City ultimately dropped its first game of the year to a talented Belle Plaine team, falling in two sets — more than they had given up all season prior.
But the squad rebounded and recorded a pair of 2-0 wins over Wadena-Deer Creek and Zumbrota-Mazeppa, respectively. The Tigers closed out the tournament with back-to-back losses to Concordia Academy (0-2) and Legacy Christian (1-2).
Bombers volleyball
The Braham volleyball team also saw tournament action over the weekend, as the Bombers took part in the Pierz High School-Pioneer Classic on Saturday, Sept. 21. The girls opened up with a 1-1 tie to Mora, before falling to Maple Lake in two sets.
The Bombers picked up its only win of the weekend over the host team, Pierz, defeating them in two sets. However, the squad dropped the final two matchups to Floodwood and Zimmerman, losing 0-2 in each contest. Following the weekend’s action, the girls moved to a 4-9 record on the season.
Bombers cross country
The Braham cross country team participated in the Rey Zimney Stampede Invitational at Pierz High School on Monday, Sept. 16. On the boys side, the team had just a single place finisher–freshman Tyler Maser–who earned 95th place in 21:33.
On the girls side, freshman Piper Anderson took 31st in a time of 23:05, before senior Ava Johnson finished 91st in 26:10.
Tigers cross country
The Rush City cross country team joined Braham at the Rey Zimney Stampede Invitational on Monday, Sept. 16. Boys junior James Monson came in 33rd place in 18:57, while junior Elijah Bergfalk came in 76th, good for a time of 20:43.
On the girls side, junior Leah Stavig finished 100th in a time of 26:34, before freshman Isabella Schisano came in at 127th.
Warrior boys soccer
On Monday, Sept. 16, the Cambridge Christian boys soccer team earned its second consecutive 10-2 victory, this time coming against Good Shepherd. Eight goals were scored in the opening period of play, and senior Junior Tivane earned himself a hat trick. Vinny Prokop, Austin Baas and Landon Pepper all scored a goal each, including Miles Sundberg, Chuck Semler, Jeremiah Newton, and Owen Blaisdell.
Following the eight goal win, the Warriors then defeated rival St. cloud by a 7-0 final score. Tivane knocked in four goals, while Israel Haines added a pair, and Gavin Estenson scored the final goal of the contest. With the back-to-back wins this week, the boys improved to a strong 6-1-1 record.
Warrior volleyball
The Cambridge Christian volleyball team earned a dominating 3-0 win over Good Shepherd on Monday, Sept. 16, before falling to St. Cloud in three sets later in the week on Friday, Sept. 20.
Vikings cross country
The North Branch cross country team faced off in the Chisago Lakes Wildcat Invitational meet held at Chisago Lakes High School on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Senior Jordan Stumm placed second overall in a time of 17:23, and junior Nathanael Damiani took 11th in 18:31. Junior Andrew Witkowski also had a solid finish, coming in at 13th place in a 18:47 time.
Freshman William Stelmack recorded 21st, and junior Joseph Damiani finished 25th overall. On the girls side, freshman Ava Witkowski earned 9th place in 22:23, before senior Maria Damiani came in 17th.
Vikings boys soccer
The North Branch boys soccer team remains winless through ten games this season, but have recorded a pair of ties, as the Vikings are ultimately 0-8-2 after the week’s worth of action.
The boys fell to Becker by way of a 3-1 final score on Monday, Sept. 16, before tying Cambridge-Isanti 3-3 on Thursday, Sept. 19. Most recently, the Vikings dropped a contest to a talented Forest Lake team, losing 4-0 at home on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Vikings girls soccer
The North Branch girls soccer team tied a contest with Becker on Monday, Sept. 16, as the game couldn’t be decided after extra time, resulting in a 2-2 final. The girls then bounced back and stomped Cambridge-Isanti, winning by a 4-1 final score on Thursday, Sept. 19. However, the Vikings fell to Cloquet/Carlton 3-0 on Saturday, Sept. 21, and now possess a 3-4-3 record on the year.
Vikings girls tennis
The North Branch girls tennis team continues its amazing start this season, as the Vikings are 18-5 overall, good for the fifth most wins in the entire state. The squad went on a six-game hot streak, defeating Roseau (7-0), Willmar (6-1), Big Lake (6-1), Zimmerman (7-0), Mora (5-2) and Princeton (5-2).
On Thursday, Sept. 19, the girls dropped a contest to Monticello by a 5-2 final, before finding the win column in their next match against Sauk Rapids-Rice, beating them 7-0.
Bluejackets boys cross country
The Cambridge-Isanti boys finished fifth among 14 teams that ran at the Rocori Invitational, which was held at River Oaks Golf Course in Cold Spring on Thursday, Sept. 19.
Junior Hunter Jacobson was one of the top runners at the meet, placing fourth individually with a time of 17:07.5.
The other scoring runners for the Bluejackets were sophomore Peyton Dombek (18:06.9) in 25th followed by junior Austin Burgess (18:07.2) in 26th, sophomore Lucashio Larson (18:46.0) in 41st and senior Keagen Lowman (19:20.5) in 61st to round out the top five.
Bluejackets girls cross country
The Cambridge-Isanti girls also placed fifth at the Rocori Invitational, which was held at River Oaks Golf Course in Cold Spring on Thursday, Sept. 19.
The Bluejackets’ top runner was junior MaKenna Sjoberg, whose time of 20:55.4 was good for 12th overall. She was followed by fellow junior Lydia Smisson (21:39.6) in 25th and and freshman Ashley Lehrer (21:46.6) in 28th.
Rounding out the top five for C-I were junior Athena Schoen (22:22.4) in 42nd and junior Olivia Michalke (22:41.6) in 45th.
Bluejackets boys soccer
The Cambridge-Isanti boys soccer team is on a bit of a roll, having lost just one of its last five match and posting an undefeated record last week.
The Bluejackets shut out Zimmerman 3-0 on Monday, Sept. 16 to begin the week. Senior Colin Rouse scored twice in this match, while sophomore Alex Martin added the other goal. Junior Gavin Overman made six saves while sophomore Joe Niles stopped two shots to combine on the clean sheet.
The next day C-I claimed another victory by blitzing Proctor 5-1. Rouse led the way with a goal and two assists, while Martin, junior Brayden Furlong, senior Fernando Martins and Overman also scored. Overman collected five more saves in goal in the win.
The Bluejackets then played to a 3-3 tie with North Branch on Thursday, Sept. 19. Rouse added two more goals and an assist in this match, giving him 12 goals and four assists on the season, while sophomore Hayden Erickson added the other goal. Furlong and junior Xander Levitski both notched assists in this match.
Cambridge-Isanti begins this week with a 5-6-1 overall record as well as a 3-2-1 mark in Mississippi 8 play that is good for third place thanks to 10 points.
Bluejackets girls soccer
The Cambridge-Isanti girls soccer team dropped a pair of Mississippi 8 matches last week.
The Bluejackets suffered a 5-1 loss at Zimmerman on Monday, Sept. 16. Senior Phoenix Fure got the lone goal in that match off an assist by sophomore Allie Nystrom.
Then C-I fell at home to North Branch by a 4-1 margin on Thursday, Sept. 19. Senior Halloran Bergman notched the goal for the Bluejackets off a feed by junior Marissa Lillyblad, while sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Herbert was credited with a pair of saves.
Bluejackets girls tennis
The Cambridge-Isanti girls tennis team continued its strong season by winning its two Mississippi 8 matches last week.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17 Cambridge-Isanti beat Becker 5-2. The Bluejackets won three of the four singles matches — junior Evie Porta at first singles, freshman Scarlet Porta at second and senior Grace Weibel at fourth — as well as two doubles matches.
Senior Lyla Hajek and sophomore Anya Lowman won at first doubles, while junior Ainsley Doom and freshman Allie Troolin were victorious at second doubles.
The Bluejackets swamped Zimmerman 7-0 in a match held two days later. In that match C-I lost only one game in the 14 sets it played.
Bluejackets volleyball
The Cambridge-Isanti volleyball team lost a four-set match against a Section 7AAAA opponent last week before snapping a six-match losing streak with a win in Mississippi 8 Conference action.
The Bluejackets lost by a score of 29-31, 25-16, 25-14, 25-19 at Blaine on Wednesday, Sept. 18. Seniors Sophia Johnson and Alice Steman led the offense with 10 kills each, while Steman added a pair of blocks and senior Neva Ihrke finished with 20 assists.
The following evening C-I swept three sets from St. Francis by scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-16. Senior Heather Tollefson had 11 kills while Johnson and Steman added eight apiece, while Ihrke collected 26 assists.
Defensively junior Brianna Dickey had a team-high 11 digs and also had two service aces. Junior Madison Gipson also pounded a pair of aces as the Bluejackets finished with seven as a team.
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