Mio AuSable played nearly mistake-free volleyball and covered the floor like a blanket. AuGres-Sims didn't ... and the Thunderbolts knocked off the Wolverines in four games on Monday to end the Wolverines' 19-game NSL win streak that dated back to the end of the 2004-5 season. Above, the Thunderbolts' Brittany Smutek (3) foils a Wolverine kill attempt.
Amanda Nixon powers one over the net against Mio on Monday.
Brent Baker
Mio's Kimberlea Brown lunges out of bounds to retrieve an errant hit in the Bolts' victory over AuGres-Sims on Monday.

AuGRES-SIMS - Jan. 22, 2007 - The AuGres-Sims volleyball team wasn't quite on their game Monday, and Mio AuSable's Thunderbolts were more than willing to take advantage of it.

The Bolts frustrated the Wolverines with some outstanding defensive play and ended AuGres-Sims' 18-game North Star League win streak on Monday, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19.

"We need to work as a team more than we did," said the Wolverines' Sam Baron. "They saw where our holes were and were able to hit them."

At several points the Wolverines were their own worst enemy. In the opening game, the teams were tied at 22-22 when AGS was guilty of a carry, hit a ball out of bounds and another one into the net.

The Wolverines bounced back in the second game, taking the lead on a pair of well-placed Alicia Wright tips and some strong front line play from Jessica Stevenson. But even in that game, the Wolverines had trouble getting set up for any power hits.

Baron's ace gave the Wolverines a 23-14 lead, but Mio pulled to within 24-22 before hitting one out for the Wolverines' winning point.

The Bolts' momentum continued well into the third game as Mio took a 16-3 lead. The Wolverines came back behind some strong hitting from Wright, and Jamie Taylor served two aces in out of five points to tie the game at 21-21, but Mio recovered to take the game and take back momentum for good.

The Bolts used strong serving from Kim Brown and Ashley Wellman in the fourth game to build another big lead. The Wolverines cut a 19-12 deficit to 22-18, but Kim Breaugh's ace and Brown's kill put a halt to the comeback, and a pair of AGS errors ended the match.

Mio was also the last NSL team to beat the Wolverines in the last regular-season match of the 2004-5 season.

It also creates a logjam atop the league, with Posen and the Wolverines leading Hale, Hillman and Mio by one game.

"We'll learn from this," Baron said. "This tells us what we need to work on."

Baron finished with 12 kills and 10 digs; Taylor had 26 assists and 18 digs; Wright had 11 kills; Chelsie Irwin had 15 digs; Toria Pendred had 11 digs and Stevenson had 13 digs.

The Wolverines fell to 8-5 overall, 4-1 in league play.