Hornet volleyball grinds out two wins in Baraboo
The Colby volleyball team traveled to Baraboo this past Saturday to take on a number of teams from southern Wisconsin. Following the results of the tournament, the Hornets are now 1111 this season.
Colby picked up a pair of wins over Tomah and the hosting Baraboo squads while falling twice to Mauston. Both wins came on third-set tiebreakers while they were swept by the Golden Eagles, who the Hornets have played three times now this season.
In their victory over the hosting Thunderbirds, Colby fell in the first set 25-18 but was able to bounce back for back-to-back wins in the second and third sets. The Hornets came out on top 2519 in the second set to force a tiebreaker and then won 15-11 to claim the match win.
Colby showed off more strength at the net, getting 25 kills to the Thunderbirds’ 16, but 17 hitting errors for the Hornets compared to just nine for the Thunderbirds meant that their overall hitting percentage was about the same. Similarly, Colby had six aces while Baraboo did not record one, but the Hornets had eight service errors to their opponents’ five. Still, the more aggressive Colby attack won out the day, putting more consistent pressure on the Thunderbirds.
The Hornets relied on their two seniors to carry them through on offense. Daelyn Rieck led the Hornets on the attack, putting together 13 kills on 32 attempts and registering a .344 hitting percentage. Brynn Polivka added another eight kills for Colby in the victory. Rieck, McKenzi Meyer and Zoe Kaiser all had two aces each and Kaiser finished with a perfect serving percentage.
Polivka and Gabby Kaiser were both in on three blocks each while Cadence Meyer, Zoe Kaiser and Rieck all had one assist. Zoe Kaiser had a team-high nine digs, Rieck added eight more and McKenzi Meyer and Elizabeth Perez both finished with seven apiece. Cadence Meyer and Zoe Kaiser evenly split the setting duties for Colby in the win, the former recording nine assists while the latter had 11.
The Hornets were slightly more effective on offense in their victory over Tomah, thanks in part to a dominant first set. Colby jumped out to an impressive 2512 victory over the Timberwolves, but Tomah battled back, winning the second set 25-18 and forcing the third past the 15-point mark. The Hornets managed to sneak out the victory in the final set, however, edging out their opponents 16-14 to win the match.
Colby nearly matched their kill total from the Baraboo contest, registering 24 kills on 76 attempts, but had far fewer hitting errors, limiting the mistakes on the attack to just nine over the course of the game.
Ten kills and three aces for Rieck helped push the Hornets over the top. Polivka added another five kills and McKenzi Meyer had four on just nine attempts. Rylee Carr added two more aces and Cadence Meyer had one.
Rieck also did her part on the defense, collecting a team-high eight digs and getting in on two blocks. Cadence Meyer also picked up two blocks while Carr and Perez both had six digs each. Colby once again favored the two setter system, having Zoe Kaiser finish with 10 assists and Cadence Meyer adding another nine.
The first time the Hornets played Mauston this season, the Golden Eagles managed to win a closely contested match in three sets. Colby once again played the South Central Conference leaders tough, but the Golden Eagles seemed to be just a step ahead, sweeping the tournament series.
Both sets in the opening matchup between the two squads went right down to the wire, but Mauston came out on top in both, 26-24 and 25-23.
The Hornets managed to pick up 22 kills on 68 attempts and limited their hitting errors to eight while only recording one serving error across the two sets. However, some of the offense they had generated from the service line in their wins was gone, Colby finishing the match with two aces.
Rieck had nine kills for the Hornets and the trio of Polivka, McKenzi Meyer and Cadence Meyer all had three each. Carr and Cadence Meyer had the Hornets’ sole aces in the loss and the latter finished with two block assists. Perez finished with 12 digs and Zoe Kaiser had 13 assists.
The second match against the Golden Eagles was not quite as close. While Colby finished with more kills than their opponents, 24 to 18, Mauston demonstrated the importance of accuracy. The Golden Eagles had just seven hitting errors while Colby had 18, a number that helped lead to a slightly more lopsided affair as Mauston completed the sweep with 25-21 and 25-18 victories.
Ten kills for Rieck and seven more for Polivka accounted for most of the Hornets’ offense in the second match. Carr, Cadence Meyer and Romina Perez each had one ace apiece and McKenzi Meyer had 10 digs to lead the squad in the category. Zoe Kaiser had her tournament high in assists, finishing with 14.
What’s Next?
The Hornets will host Cloverbelt- East rival Columbus Catholic on Thursday, Sept. 25. The Dons are 16-10 so far this season and were ranked fifth in the state in Division 4 in the most recent Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association poll. While they are coming off a 2-3 tournament on Saturday, the teams they lost to were number one ranked McDonell, second ranked Regis and Newman Catholic, who is third ranked in Division 5. Columbus has been the dominant force in the conference for over a decade but Thursday’s match against Colby will be their first Cloverbelt-East contest of the season, leaving their status in the conference still unknown. The match is slated for a 7:15 p.m. start.
