Cadott’s season comes to an end at hands of Fall Creek

Cadott started off strong in the first round of Regional volleyball action, but struggled to come away with a victory in the second round.

Oct. 20 vs. Chetek-Weyerhaeuser – Regional (W 3-0)

The Hornets were seeded fourth in their Division 3 bracket, playing host in the first round of Regionals, taking on No. 5 seeded Chetek-Weyerhaeuser.

“The match was really competitive and we had to work really hard each set,” said coach James Bremness. “But, it was really nice to see us finally put a full match together.”

The first set was a close win for Cadott, 25-22, but the Hornets overcame opening match jitters and took the next two sets, 25-17 and 25-17, advancing to the second round of Regionals.

“Really nice team win for us,” said Bremness. “Chetek-Weyerhaeuser is a big, athletic team, who has some really nice players. The girls look confident and are hungry to keep competing.”

Senior Haylee Rowe added to her assists numbers, with 28, in “smart matches,” while senior hitter Jada Kowalczyk was a “little off,” but got creative on kills, with 7 and only 1 error. Bremness says Kowalczyk was a great vocal leader on the floor.

“Very nice to see all of the team step up, but especially the seniors,” said Bremness.

Junior Makenna Barone gave the team 10 kills and 10 digs, with sophomore Lauryn Goettl contributing 20 digs and 2 aces.

“We will have to work harder, be more aggressive and play faster for Thursday, against a strong successful Fall Creek program,” said Bremness. “But for tonight, we celebrate a solid 3-0 win and then come ready to work tomorrow.”

Oct. 22 vs. Fall Creek – Second Regional (L 3-0)

Two days later, Cadott was off to Fall Creek, to face the No. 1 seeded Crickets, in the second round of Regional playoffs.

The first set was a close affair, but Fall Creek managed to squeeze out a 25-22 victory.

“Fall Creek is a very, very good team,” said Bremness. “We competed point for point with them, for two of the three sets. I think that showed how far we’ve come in just a couple weeks, after playing them earlier in the season.”

In the second set, Fall Creek pulled away for a 2-0 lead, taking the set, 25-11. The Hornets wouldn’t give up without a fight and in the third – and what would be the final set – had a much closer set. Cadott ran out of time to pull off the win and the set went to the Crickets, 25-21, advancing them to the final round of Regionals.

“Even though our season is over, I really enjoyed how well the team played these last few matches,” said Bremness. “I felt, and I think the girls do, too, that we ended the season playing the best we had all season.”

Rowe ended the night with 15 assists, while Barone had 6 kills, 6 blocks and 2 aces. Kowalczyk finished the match with 6 kills and 8 digs, and Goettl had 18 digs and 2 aces.

For seniors Kowalczyk, Taylor Lindsay, Rowe, Lexxie Rowe, Hailey Wellner, Carissa Woodford and Autumn Yeager, it was the last time stepping on the volleyball court in their high school careers.

“This was a really great group of girls this season,” said Bremness. “It’s really going to be hard to not see this team continuing to play together. They didn’t let ego or ‘I’m a senior’ get in the way of being great teammates, leaders and positive influences.”

Bremness said a big reason why the whole team worked so well together, was because of the seniors, and how they put the team and teammates ahead of the individual. He says the senior girls will be greatly missed.

“We will try to fill their shoes for next season, but they truly are irreplaceable as teammates and people.”