APPLETON – In an extremely competitive, two-day, 32-team event held at Community First Champion Center in Appleton Aug. 30-31, the Oconto Falls High volleyball team battled its way to the 10th spot.
On Friday, the Panthers won their pool, beating Ripon (25-13, 25-13), Saint Mary Springs (25-18, 25-17) and Mosinee (25-19, 25-22). Izzy Otto had 61 assists and 13 digs for the day. Amber Otto led the offensive attack with 30 kills, with Lucy Ripley right behind her at 27 kills. Rylie Shallow paced the defense with 27 digs. Katelyn Kurek contributed with 5 kills and 6 aces.
On Saturday morning, Oconto Falls took 3rd in their Challenge Bracket losing a tough match against DC Everest(12-25, 25-20, 18-20) and then beat Grafton(25-18, 25-21). In the afternoon, they advanced to the 4-team Gold 3 Bracket to compete for 9th-12th place. The Panthers beat Kewaskum (25-12, 25-21) before falling to New Berlin West (16-25, 27-25, 8-15). Izzy Otto ran the offense with 91 assists and 21 digs. Lucy Ripley led in kills with 47 followed by Amber Otto with 44 kills and 30 digs. Rylie Shallow led the team in digs with 33 and also added 5 aces on the day. Hailyn St. Louis had 19 digs and 6 aces.
Badgers pick up a pair, Cougars spit at triangular
COLEMAN – The Niagara High volleyball team is off to a 2-0 start after picking up wins against St. Thomas Aquinas and host team Coleman in triangular play last Thursday, Aug. 29..
“Our team is starting to come together nicely,” said Niagara head coach Maryellen Allred. “My girls are showing confidence with their play calling. We need to be more consistent at times with both energy level and skill. Serving was a huge setback for us tonight, and it is something we simply need to be mentally strong in at all times.”
Against the Cougars, the Lady Badgers took the match in three straight games, 25-15, 25-18, 25-16.
Rachel Walker tallied 16 kills, three aces and five digs in the win while teammate Raegan Frapier recorded 26 assists, six kills, six aces and three digs. Mallory Sanicki added another 16 kills to go along with her 10 aces, seven assists, five digs and a block.
Coleman was paced by Alayna Gilbertson’s 10 kills and a block. Annabell Markiewicz turned in 14 digs and an assist and Maddy Straub finished with six blocks and three kills.
In a 25-13, 25-10, 25-9 victory over STAA for their first win of the season, the Cougars were led by six aces and four kills from Larissa Sailer, along with five digs by Norah Kinziger.
Panthers take 3rd in ‘Battle of the Valley’
MENASHA – The Oconto Falls volleyball team got off to a good start to the season, competing with some top notch team as it took 3rd place in the Battle of the Valley on Tuesday, Aug. 27. The Panthers won their pool, beating Little Chute (25-13, 25-9) and Chilton (25-13, 25-23) before advancing to the Gold Pool, where they lost a great match to defending conference champs, Fox Valley Lutheran in three sets (27-29, 25-17, 10-15). The Panthers lost another competitive match to the defending State Champions, Appleton Xavier (27-29, 22-25).
Izzy Otto ran the offense and recorded 73 assists, had 24 digs, and 6 aces. Amber Otto tallied 36 kills, 7 aces and 32 digs, followed by Lucy Ripley who tallied 33 kills and 6 Blocks. Rylie Shallow led the defense with 41 digs and 4 aces. Ella Jahnke contributed 9 kills, 8 Blocks and 4 aces.
Wolverines win two
CRIVITZ – Playing on its home court in triangular action on Thursday, Aug. 29, the Crivitz High Volleyball team picked up a pair of victories without dropping a set, defeating Suring (25-19, 25-22, 25-14) and Oneida (25-15, 25-6, 25-7).
Marli Meyers led the Wolverines offense with 23 kills and two aces to go along with six blocks and two digs for the day. Kirsten Pusick added 13 kills, two digs and a block to go along with Taryn Tracy’s 11 kills, five aces, nine digs and six assists.
Defensively, Lucy Gruszynski turned in 34 digs, along with 13 digs for Kiya Brand, who also had eight kills and an ace.