SPORTS

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL
Team sinks Lakers

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Morgan Wirtz reaches back with a bead on the ball to send it over the net for a kill. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
Playing on the road for six meets is a tough way to begin a season, but the Lady Elk volleyballers weren’t phased by their schedule, they just went to work and played hard. The Elks finally had their home opener last Thursday, hosting Glen Lake in a non-conference matchup. The Elks had no trouble with the Lakers, winning in three straight sets 25-8, 25-20 and 25-13.

Ryleigh Yocom tallied 10 digs, 32 assists with four aces, Grace Mischel added 10 digs, Alena LaPointe had nine digs with two aces, Bri Roberts and Nevada Molby both had six kills, Emma Roberts, Morgan Wirtz and Logan Reasoner each added four kills in the win.

The volleyball home opener was originally set for September 9 against St. Francis but was rescheduled for October 21 after the Elk varsity volleyball was placed in virus quarantine. Elk head volleyball coach Connie Gorno wasn’t concerned about her team getting rusty during the quarantine period. “No, I was not worried at all coming off of quarantine. In the big picture it could not have happened at a better time,” Gorno explained. “We missed two games, which will be rescheduled and with the holiday weekend we missed two practices. I definitely contribute our level of play to the bigger tournaments we have competed in so far this season. I believe the girls have surpassed already where we finished last season and their confidence level individually and as a team has greatly improved. I’m proud of how far these ladies have come as a team since the beginning of the season.”
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A conference match scheduled at East Jordan on Tuesday was canceled due to a problem with the Red Devil squad, resulting in a forfeit win for Elk Rapids. Elk Rapids (7-8-3, 2-0 LMC) is home for a non-conference meet with Leelanau St. Mary on Thursday, then host Grayling on Tuesday (9/28) in a conference matchup.

VARSITY SOCCER
Soccer runs shutout streak to nine games 

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Jack Spencer goes airborne for a save against TCC. Spencer broke the Elk keeper career shutouts record at Boyne City last Thursday. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
Jack Spencer goes airborne for a save against TCC. Spencer broke the Elk keeper career shutouts record at Boyne City last Thursday. Photo by Kim Eardley Photography

The Elk soccer machine continued to churn away on the pitch with a 5-0 shutout over Traverse City Christian in a non-conference game on Tuesday. The win was the ninth straight shutout for the Elks, coming in a stretch of eight wins and a tie. Sean Burch got the Elks going quickly, scoring a goal just under two minutes into the game, Mason Travis scored twice, Jared Barcenas and Nolan Carroll both had a goal. Spencer Ball had two assists, Cooper Moore recorded an assist and Jack Spencer had three saves in the Elk goal. The Elks had 10 shots on goal to the Sabres three. The Elks moved into sole possession of first place in the Lake Michigan Conference with a 2-0 win over Boyne City on the road last Thursday. The squads entered the game tied for first at 3-0 in conference play. Barcenas and Carroll each had a goal in the win, Ball had an assist, Spencer notched two saves in goal. The shutout win was career number 40 for Spencer, setting a new Elk record for keeper career shutouts. The previous record of 39 shutouts was held by Bruce Veliquette, a 1998 Elk Rapids graduate and all-state soccer player.  

In Kalkaska on Monday the Elks strengthened their quest for a fifth consecutive LMC title with an 8-0 blanking of the Blazers. Scoring came from Carroll and Barcenas with two goals each, Travis, Ball, Burch and Garrett Decker had solo goals. Carroll and Travis both had two assists, Barcenas, Ball, Emery Rubert and Owen Spencer all were credited with an assist. In goal Spencer had zero saves. Elk Rapids (9-3-3, 5-0 LMC) heads into the second round of conference matchups, hosting Charlevoix on Thursday (9/23) and Harbor Springs on Monday (9/27).

VARSITY CROSS COUNTRY
Elks run first at Kalkaska

The Kalkaska Invitational held at Grandview Golf Course on Tuesday had some standout individual performances along with trophy hardware for first place finishes from both the Elk girls and boys cross country teams. Hannah Jansen, a foreign exchange student from Germany made her Elk cross country debut finishing first overall (22:42), followed by Jaida Schulte in second place (22:44), with Sarah Zamaites (4-23:28) and Hunter Schellenbarger (6-24:05) rounding out the top four finishers for the Elk girls team. The Elk girls finished first with 17, Kalkaska was a distant second with 46. Leading the Elk boys team was Charlie Ward, finishing in second place overall (18.05), joined by Christian Kerfoot (6-18:59), Caleb Kerfoot (7-19:05) and Max Ward (8-19:17) as the top four Elk finishers. The Elk boys team, currently ranked number 10 in Division 3, finished in first place with 33, Kalkaska was second (47) and Grayling finished third (48). The top 13 runners were awarded medals, the Elks earning five on the boys team, the four top finishers and Seth Brown (10-19:52) All seven runners on the Elk girls team brought home medals, the top four plus Catherine Leahy (7-24:13), Eva Pray (8-24:29) and Clara Leahy (9-24:30). 
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The Elks hosted Kalkaska in a dual meet ran at Maplehurst last Thursday. The Elk girls squad ran over the Blazers 15-45, while the Blazer boys edged the Elks 27 to 28. The girls took the first through sixth positions; the four top finishers were Zamaites (1-22:54), Pray (2-23:01), Schellenbarger (3-23:16) and Schulte (4-23:28). The top four boys were Charlie Ward (2-17:44), Christian Kerfoot (5-18:16), Max Ward (6-18:21) and Caleb Kerfoot (7-18:43). The Elks will next run at the Kingsley Invitational on Thursday (9/23), then compete in the Petoskey Invite on Saturday (9/25).

VARSITY FOOTBALL
Elks lose game to Rayders

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Max Irelan (7) with a quick handoff to Hunter Butte (48). Photo by Kim Eardley Photography
There was perfect weather on Friday as the Elks hosted Charlevoix on the gridiron in a Leaders Division matchup. The homecoming game had the stands full, the student section loud and the Elk band thumping, but the final result was a 66-24 loss for the Elks.

The first quarter was close between the two longtime rivals. The Rayders scored first, adding the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead. The Elks responded with a 10-play drive, capped off with Declan Shockley scoring on a three-yard run. The two point try failed; the opening quarter ended with the Elks trailing 8-6. Charlevoix scored quickly to open the second quarter, adding the extra two for a 16-6 lead. The Elks responded with a 69-yard touchdown scamper by Mason Barnhard, the longest offensive run for the Elks this year, trimming the score deficit to 16-12. The Rayders shook off the Elk touchdown and went to work scoring 22 points in the remainder of the second quarter for a 38-12 halftime lead. Early in the third the Elk defense forced a Rayder fumble at the Elk five-yard line; Chase DeArment picked up the loose ball and ran 95 yards for the Elk touchdown. A final score for the Elks came late in the third with Mason Barnhard running in from the five ending an Elk six play drive. 
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The Elks would not score again. Charlevoix tacked on 22 points for the 66-24 final tally. Elk Rapids (1-3, 0-2 LD) will head to Benzie Central (1-3) on Friday for a non-conference game with the Huskies.

VARSITY TENNIS
Team downs Harbor at home

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Elizabeth Pike reaches for a return shot against Harbor Springs. Courtesy photo
The Elk tennis team avenged a tie at Harbor Springs last week with a 5-3 win over the Rams on the home courts Tuesday. In singles play, fourth seeded Elizabeth Pike saved the Elks from being swept, fighting back from an opening set loss to win the second set and the tiebreaker (2-6,6-4,10-8). The Elks swept Harbor in doubles competition with wins from first seed Matthew Brown and Jack Taylor (6-2,6-0), second seed Gabby Krakow and Monika Gregorski (6-0,6-0), third seed Mary Gregorski and Ethen Huhn (6-3,6-2) and fourth seeded James Gorno and Bobby Cutting (7-5,6-1). 

Playing in Harbor Springs last Thursday the teams fought to a 4-4 tie. First seed Christian Bush came back from a first set loss to win the second set and tiebreaker (4-6,7-5,10-7) for the lone singles flight win. In doubles play the Elks had wins from Brown and Taylor (8-6, 6-3), Krakow and Monika Gregorski (6-3,6-0) and Mary Gregorski and Huhn (6-0,6-3). The Elks have tied matches four times this season. “The tie is better than a loss,” said Elk tennis coach Andrea Krakow. 
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The Elks (3-3-4) hosted Traverse City West on Wednesday (9/22) and will play their season home finale against Glen Lake on Tuesday (9/28).