The Wadena-Deer Creek volleyball team is used to everyone giving them their best effort during the regular season. Now, the target is squarely on the back of the No. 1 seed in the North when the Wolverines open Section 6A play on Oct. 26 in Wadena.
The Wolverines will open with either Park Christian or Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal in the first round of the playoffs. Those two teams square off on Oct. 23 in a play-in game at Park Christian High School.
The Wolverines have been ranked all season long in the Class A polls and entered their final regular season tournament with a 19-4 record overall. They opened play with Roseville and Ada-Borup in the pool play of the Moorhead Invitational.
The Wolverines boasted a perfect 5-0 mark against Section 6A opponents during the season. They were ranked fourth overall by the QRF, earning them the No. 1 seed in the north. Pelican Rapids, who finished the season with an 18-6-0 mark earned the No. 2 seed in the North. Thirteen of their 18 wins came against Section 6A opponents. The Wolverines and the Vikings did not play each other during the regular season. Barnesville earned the No. 3 seed with a 19-7-0 record and a 6-4 mark during the regular season. New York Mills earned the No. 4 seed in the north and is a potential second round matchup for the Wolverines. The Eagles finished with an 18-8-0 mark and a 10-7 record against Section 6A opponents. The Wolverines defeated the Eagles, 3-0, during a regular season contest, which helped the Wolverines secure the Park Region Conference Championship.
There is a log jam at the top of the southern part of the section as well. Underwood earned the No. 1 seed in the south, finishing with a 22-6-0 mark. Underwood was perfect against section opponents, finishing with a 15-0-0 mark. They are ranked 14th in the QRF rankings, which determines the seeds for the tournament. Breckenridge earned the No. 2 seed with a 19-9-0 mark. Wadena-DC and Breckenridge went to a five-gamer earlier in the season with the Wolverines pulling it out in Breckenridge. Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley earned the No. 3 seed with a 21-7-0 record, while Henning is the fourth seed with a 21-7-0 record.
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The Wolverines schedule and experience from last year’s Section 8AA playoff run should help them come tournament time. The Wolverines faced one of the tougher schedules in Section 6A when they competed against several schools from Section 8AA, along with several Class AAA schools at the Midwest Fall Classic at St. Michael-Albertville. The Wolverines made some adjustments after the tournament and have been playing well of late.
The Wolverines closed out the regular season at the 32nd annual Moorhead Invitational on Oct. 20 and 21.
