Local girl helps LoW team back to state

Jason Wilson
Coach

After defeating #1 ranked Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in a stunning comeback win during the section 8AA semi-finals 3-2 (16-25, 17-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-11) and Wadena-Deer Creek 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-21) in the section finals; the defending Lake of the Woods Class AA state high school volleyball champions are returning to St. Paul for the state championships November -9th-11th.
One of the keys to the Bears success this season is the play of senior Nicole Olson (daughter of Jackie and Damon Delvecchio). A returning starter from last years championship team and named to the all-tournament team; Nicole leads the Bears in blocks and is second on the team with 191 kills despite missing 4 matches due to an ankle injury.
The Lake of the Woods volleyball program received sanctions from the Minnesota State High School League last winter when it was discovered that the Bears had violated rules by playing more matches than the maximum allowed by the MSHSL. One of the penalties is that veteran coach Laurie Bitter is not allowed to participate in the 2006 postseason.
Stepping up to fill in for Bitter is the trio of junior varsity coach Jason Wilson, C squad coach Jim Magnusen and eighth-grade coach Jill Olson.
A public send off and pep-fest for the team is Wednesday November 8th, 8:15 a.m. at the Lake of the Woods High School gymnasium. You can listen to all the Bear volleyball action on KQ92 (92.5FM) beginning with their opening game (a rematch of last years final) vs. Stewartville Thursday November 9th at 6:30 p.m.