Badgers Win M&O Conference Championship

Badgers Win M&O
Crown Despite
Loss to Eagles
Niagara was beaten by Suring to suffer its second M&O Conference loss of the season on Thursday, but the Badgers defeated Wausaukee in a triangular to claim their third straight M&O Conference title.
Niagara dominated the second set against Suring by a 25-13 score, but the Badgers were beaten in the other three sets, 25-22, 25-20, and 25-20.
“Too many mental errors and passing definitely hurt us,” Niagara coach Carol St. Arnauld said.
Niagara then handled business against Wausaukee to claim the title, winning 25-11, 25-14, and 25-14.
Over the course of the two matches, Mallory Sanicki had 16 kills and Morgan Borchardt had 13 to go with 13 aces, 13 four blocks, 30 assists, and 13 digs.
Abby Wells had 15 digs and eight aces. Emma Broullire had three blocks and eight kills.
Raegan Frappier had 20 digs and Erin Lukowicz had 19. They had five and four service aces, respectively.
“We will take the conference title for the third year in a row and prepare to battle in regionals,” St. Arnauld said. “This team has the ability to do great things, but at the end of the day, it is up to them to get it done.“
Niagara earned a No. 2 seed in its Division 4 bracket.
Bulldogs Collar Wolves
in Playoff Opener
Peshtigo won its playoff opener against Manawa in straight sets on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs, a No. 5 seed in Division 3, beat 12th-seeded Manawa 25-18, 25-17, and 25-21. They go on the road on Thursday to take on No. 4 Bonduel.
The Bears went 25-7 this season and beat Oconto in three sets to win Tuesday’s playoff opener. Peshtigo and Bonduel did not face each other this season.
In their win on Tuesday, the Bulldogs caused Manawa some problems at the net. Bethany Ahrens had three solo blocks and Akira Smalls had one.
“We watched film yesterday as a team and realized that they set the ball really high, which will give our block time to develop,” Peshtigo coach Jenny Martin said. “There were still holes in our block that our defense isn’t used to doing, so we have to fix that tomorrow and make sure those holes close up.”
Ahrens had a strong game for Peshtigo, with five kills, four assists, 13 digs, and the team-high three blocks.
“All season long, Bethany has come in clutch,” Martin said. “She’s the sleeper, the kid no one is paying attention to, and then all of a sudden it’s a kill, and it’s a smart kill. She’s not just swinging for power, she’s swinging for location, and she’s finding it.”
Peshtigo did let Manawa hang around a little bit longer than they might have liked in each of the final two sets. In the second set, Manawa led 11-10 before Peshtigo started to take control, with a couple of Allison Peters kills putting the Bulldogs ahead 16-12. Peters had back-to-back aces to win the second set.
Maysen Brissette’s five aces were a team-high. Peters had three, while Tonn and Smalls added two apiece.
“Serving is one of our spots this year that we’re trying to work on. We’d like it to be tougher,” Martin said. “If we’re not going to have a good serve, we’ve got to make sure our serve-receive is on point, and that’s something we’ve spent the last three or four days really working on.”
In the third set, Manawa again led 11-10. Smalls punched home back-to-back kills to take a 13-11 lead. She had two aces to give her team a 17-13 advantage, but Manawa kept pushing, tying the set at 17 before the Bulldogs steadied the ship and won 25-21 on a Peters kill down the line.
Maysen Brissette and Peters each had eight kills, and Jaci Tonn had five. Tonn led the team with 24 assists.
Peters got 17 digs and Camryn Brissette had 15.
Thursday’s matchup in Bonduel begins at 7 p.m. The winner faces either No. 1 Wittenberg-Birnamwood or No. 9 Coleman on Saturday night.
Coleman Gets Past
Amherst in 5 Sets
Coleman slipped past Amherst in the teams’ opening playoff matchup on Tuesday, earning a date with top-seeded Wittenberg-Birnamwood.
The Cougars won the first set 25-23, but were beaten 25-16 in the second. The next two sets followed a similar pattern, with Coleman winning 25-23 and then suffering a 25-18 defeat in the fourth.
With the season on the line, the ninth-seeded Cougars stepped up and beat No. 8 seed Amherst 15-13 in the final set.
Katie Knox had 21 attack kills, 12 digs, and three aces for the Cougars.
Madelyn Hinther had a team-high five aces to go with 10 digs, 17 assists, and two block kills.
Sylvia Fochesato had a team-best 19 assists and 22 digs, chipping in seven kills as well.
Vivian Kostreva had three aces and seven kills, and Aubrey Bintz had 19 digs and six kills.
Coleman heads on the road to face No. 1 Wittenberg-Birnamwood at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood is 24-8 on the season, including wins over the bracket’s No. 4 seed, Bonduel, and No. 5 seed, Peshtigo.
Marines Fall in
Finale to Tigers in
Straight Sets
Wrightstown brought the Marinette Marines’ regular season to a disappointing end with a three-set victory.
Marinette was beaten 25-20 in the first set, 25-14 in set two, and 25-17 in the third set.
Eight seniors depart from the Marines’ ranks at the end of the season, including Kylie Veriha, Maci Monnette, Addison Pristelski, Savannah Brown, Rylee Hansen, Cienna Grawey, Peyton Berman, and Peyton Klose.
Marinette coach Tayah Hampton has coached all of Marinette’s seniors for several years, and many for even longer, as she was a club coach for some of them before they were even at the varsity level.
“I’ve been with some of them since they were 13 years old, so before they were even in high school,” Hampton said. “It was really cool to see them grow and blossom to where they are today.”
She was full of praise for the seniors and what they’ve meant to Marinette’s culture shift in recent seasons.
“All the seniors across the board are super hard workers,” she said. “It’s really awesome to get to work with a group of kids that love the game that much and work that hard. They have their ups and downs and they have their struggles, but at the end of the day, they’re all there for each other and they’re all wanting the best out of their team and out of themselves, so it’s really cool to see.”
Marinette was a No. 14 seed in Division 2, and faced No. 3 Mosinee on Tuesday.
Bobcats Bounce
Patriots From Playoffs
Florence is set up for a date with three-time reigning M&O Conference champions Niagara on Thursday.
The Bobcats, a No. 3 seed in Division 4, dispatched of sixth-seeded Goodman-Pembine in three sets on Tuesday, while No. 2 Niagara took care of No. 7 Elcho.
The Bobcats weren’t able to dominate the Patriots in set one on Tuesday, getting a 25-20 win, but they flexed their muscles in sets two and three to win 25-12 and 25-6.
For G-P, Minna Yang had seven blocks. Rebekah Strietzel and Jolie Seidel had three blocks. Sammi Swick had four assists.
“Our youth and inexperience eventually couldn’t keep up with a strong-hitting Florence attack,” Patriots coach John Swick said. “We played very well early on. I think the positives give us a lot to work with and the excitement to get back to work soon.”
Florence heads to Niagara to face the Badgers at 7 p.m. on Thursday
Coleman Wins Two
at Crivitz Triangular
Coleman beat Lena and Crivitz in a triangular in Crivitz on Thursday.
Lena proved to be a tough test for the Cougars, taking the first two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-23. Coleman regrouped after set two and won the next three by scores of 25-21, 25-22, and 15-9.
Katie Knox had 15 kills and two blocks, both team-bests. She was also one of three Cougars, along with Vivian Kostreva, Cameron Zeitler, and Madelyn Hinther, to have three service aces.
Coleman handled Crivitz in four close sets. After Coleman won the first two, 25-21 and 25-22, the Wolverines kept things alive with a 27-25 win in the third set.
Again the Cougars won a close one in set four, 25-22, to win the match.
Knox had 11 kills and two blocks. Cameron Zeitler led the Cougar block with four, Hinther had 12 assists, and Breana Hanrahan led the team with 11 digs.
Hinther and Kostreva had three aces apiece.
Crivitz beat Lena in three sets: 25-11, 25-13, and 25-16.
Over the course of two matches, Maddy Welt had 14 kills, while Kylie Chilcote and Senya Caine had 12 apiece.
Caine and Chilcote had four and five blocks, respectively. Caine had five aces as well.
Hailee Gyger’s seven aces and 41 assists were both team-highs.
Lilli Watson had 27 digs.
Tayah Werner had five aces, five kills, 13 digs, and six assists.
Panthers Drop 5 Set
Heartbreaker to Comets
Waupaca handed Oconto Falls a five-set defeat in the Panthers’ final regular season game on Thursday.
The Panthers were up two sets to one after winning 25-22 in the first set and 25-18 in the third, sandwiched around a 25-23 Waupaca win in the second.
It was Waupaca that came out stronger in the final two sets, winning 25-17 in the fourth and 15-12 in the tiebreaker.
For Waupaca, Josie Peterson had six of the team’s 10 service aces. Freshman Peyton Carlson was impressive, as she had three total blocks and 31 kills on 55 attempts.
Amber Otto’s 28 kills were the most for the Panthers, followed by 17 from Brailyn St. Louis. Otto had six aces and Keira Cole’s three blocks led the team.
Kyndra Staidl had 17 digs. Hanna Krejcarek and Morgan Moynihan had 23 assists apiece.
The Panthers have a bye in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs, having earned the No. 2 seed. They await the winner of No. 7 Lakeland and No. 10 Antigo, and will host that matchup on Thursday night.
Oconto Falls has not faced either team so far this season.