Comeback against Edgar a highlight of season-opening Spencer Invite
SPENCER VB INVITE
The Medford Raiders saw a little bit of everything in their volleyball season opener Tuesday, easily winning one match, having to battle to win another and then falling short in a tight one to place second in the six-team Spencer Invitational.
In the title match, Three Lakes completed a perfect day by sweeping Medford 3-0 and getting points at the right time at the end of each set. The Blue Jays also swept Spencer and Athens 2-0 in pool play.
Medford swept Prentice 2-0 and somehow rallied to defeat Edgar 2-1 to win its pool and advance to the best-of-five final.
“Overall, I think our passing was OK,” head coach Cheryl Schreiner said of the team’s first outing. “Our defensive scrappiness was really impressive. We saw a lot of good things and we saw a lot of things that we have to work on.
“I thought we served aggressively, which was good,” she said. “There were a couple of times where there was a lack of communication out there. I saw that a couple of times. That’s just a matter of being willing to trust each other out there. The girls on the bench were really helpful about telling the girls where the open spots were and things like that. It was very helpful.”
Three Lakes was a WIAA Division 4 sectional finalist last fall and was denied a trip to state by Prentice. The Blue Jays have high hopes of making another run this year behind a sizable front line, led by senior middle Mari Szews, who dominated early in set one. Three Lakes led 7-2 when Allie Paulson led a Medford charge that got the Raiders back within 9-8 with a kill and two aces. An Olivia Krug ace gave Medford an 11-10 lead and a push from Martha Miller found a hole to make it 12-11, but the Blue Jays surged ahead again, thanks to a trio of winners from Szews. The Raiders tied it at 21-21 and 22-22 on winners from Katie Brehm, but Szews got three straight kills to give Three Lakes the 25-22 win.
Medford trailed through most of the second set as well, getting behind by as much as five at 23-18. Miller’s tip and deep shot scored points, Paulson banged a winner off a blocker and the Blue Jays hit a ball out to get the Raiders within 23-22. But after a timeout, Karlee Weavers hit a winner to the corner and Addie Lehman’s off-speed tip capped another 25-22 win for Three Lakes.
Medford fell behind in game three 11-4, but roared back behind kills from Laurissa Klapatauskas, Megan Fredrikson and Brehm and a block from Brehm. Medford surged ahead 18-14 on a serving run by Klapatauskas and extended the lead to 22-16 on a Rynn Ruesch block kill and 23-19 on a Blue Jay miscue.
But Three Lakes got a sideout on a Szews kill, leading to two aces from Kara Sowinski and kills from strong left-hander Sara Gruszynski and Kallie Volk to win it 25-23.
“I didn’t like how we didn’t finish this last set,” Schreiner said. “When we’re up like that we have to learn how to put it away.” On the flip side, Medford didn’t quit against Edgar, who had the Raiders on the ropes in game three.
The Raiders clicked in game one, easily downing the Wildcats 25-12 and led the second set 5-3 when things suddenly unraveled. Wildcat Malia Hoesly got Medford’s back row out of sync with a big serving run, highlighted by a couple of kills and a block from Makayla Wirkus that put Edgar up 12-6. Wirkus put up some tough serves of her own and Edgar hitters Reagan Borchardt and Emily Murkowski got rolling in a 25-13 win.
Edgar’s momentum carried into game three where the Wildcats jumped ahead 8-2 and 11-4 and 13-6. The Raiders got within 13-9 but a missed serve gave Edgar match point.
Katie Lybert’s push found a hole and Paulson banged two attacks off blockers to make it 14-12. Fredrikson got a kill and Ruesch blocked an Edgar tip to tie it at 14-14. Ruesch’s kill and Edgar error capped the improbable 7-0 run and Medford’s 16-14 win.
“We beat Prentice pretty good and then we got down and we played panicked, Schreiner said. “We just had to settle down, settle our nerves down because it was the first time we were down and get back at it. I thought the girls did a good job of it. They couldn’t come back from the big deficit they had in the second set, but they sure did it in the third.
“I didn’t see any chins hanging, that was really nice,” she added. “They got right back in there and they just kept going. We talked about being aggressive because in the set we lost to Edgar, we got tip happy. You have to stay aggressive.”
Medford broke open the first game with Prentice when Gabby Brunner went on a serving run that included three aces and pushed Medford to a 23-13 lead. Prentice made a mini-run but Medford was able to close out a 25-18 win. The Raiders were up 6-5 in game two when they went on a 19-5 tear to close out the match 25-10.
Prentice came back to beat Edgar 2-1 and Athens 3-1 to place third. Edgar swept Spencer 3-0 to win the fifthplace match.
Medford will be at the two-day, 40-team Menomonie Sprawl Friday and Saturday. The Raiders open the tournament Friday in a five-team pool that includes Colby, Eau Claire North, Cameron and St. Croix Central.
The Raiders open Great Northern Conference play by hosting four-time defending league champion Mosinee Sept. 2 at 7 p.m.
Mike Strama attempts a birdie putt while his playing partner Scott Ewaskowitz watches as they play the ninth green during the Aug. 14 Connor Scramble. Strama and Ewaskowitz parred the hole.
