Aaron Bender

PARK FALLS, Wis. -- "It couldn't have been much closer," said Hurley volleyball coach Aaron Bender of the Midgettes' 3-2 loss to Park Falls in the opening round of WIAA Division 3 regional play Tuesday evening.

"It was kind of like our whole season.We played well at times, but just couldn't find a way to break through with the big play when we needed it," said Bender.

The Cardinals won the first two games 25-23 and 26-24, before Hurley came back to win Games 3 and 4, 25-23, 25-23.

Park Falls advanced to Friday's semifinal against Washburn by winning the final game 15-13.

"Each game was close and we had our chances," said Bender.
...
"Our juniors continue to play well, but so did our seniors," said Bender.
...
The girls played hard," said Bender.

"We pushed them to five games, but we just couldn't find a way to win one more game," said Midgette coach Aaron Bender.

The Oredockers won the back-and-forth affair 20-25, 25-21, 9-25, 25-17, 15-9.

"We had a lot of girls play well," said Bender.

HURLEY -- "It's been a long time coming," said Hurley volleyball coach Aaron Bender of the Midgettes' 3-1 win over Indianhead Conference volleyball power Washburn Tuesday night at the Hurley K-12 School.

"It may be seven or 10 years since we've beaten them.This may be their first conference loss in that many years," said Bender."Our girls really put it together."

Hurley dropped the first game, 26-24, but came back to win the next three 25-22, 25-18 and 25-22.

"Washburn has a new coach this year, but they have a good program that won a couple state titles in recent years," said Bender.
...
"She really used her speed to help us," said Bender.
...
Bender was pleased to be able to get everyone in the game on Parents Night."The fans were a big part of the win.If I had a game ball to give, it'd go to them," said Bender.

"We played poorly," said Midgette coach Aaron Bender.

"It was an exciting match," said Midgette coach Aaron Bender.

"We could find ourselves in a chance to finish first in the conference," said Midgette coach Aaron Bender.

The Midgettes improved to 5-1 in the confernce with a 3-0 win over Glidden Thursday.Hurley won 15-2, 15-9, 15-10.

"We played real well at times, but had mental lapses a few times, as well.This is a talented group of volleyball players.They have great ability, but on occasion lack confidence, after making a mistake," said Bender.