RIB LAKE VOLLEYBALL - Falcons’ momentum can’t be stopped in battle for first place

With first place in the Marawood North’s volleyball standings up for grabs Tuesday, the Rib Lake Redmen had the momentum early, lost it midway through the match and never got it back in a 3-1 loss to the visiting Abbotsford Falcons.

With the win, Abbotsford improved to 3-0 in the North and now has a clear path toward a repeat conference championship. Rib Lake fell to 2-1 and now needs to beat Athens and Phillips in its remaining North matches and hope for help from Prentice (2-1) and/or Chequamegon (0-3), who are Abbotsford’s last two league opponents.

One of Abbotsford’s key strengths is serving and the Falcons, after tying the match by winning game two 25-23, used that strength to their advantage Tuesday. Big serving runs in both games three and four got Rib Lake, now 23-6 overall, out of system much too often and the Redmen could never regain the momentum and confidence they played with in the first set and even a good portion of the second.

The Redmen got out to a fast start, jumping ahead 5-0 and then 9-2 after a block kill from Megan Komarek and Megan Anderson’s kill that deflected off Falcon middle Lauryn Harris. Quickreaction defensive plays by Tahlia Scheithauer and Madilyn Blomberg set an early tone. The Redmen were able to attack with quick offense and they took advantage of some misfires by Abbotsford to get their lead to 18-6 following a win from Camryn Glenzer at the net. The lead stayed in double digits from there with Rib Lake taking the opener 25-13.

The second set proved pivotal. Seeking a commanding 2-0 lead, Rib Lake led early, getting it out to 15-10 following a Tessa Weik block on Abbotsford’s Marilyn Hammock, a Camryn Glenzer kill and Weik ace. Abbotsford got a sideout and Caylee Clement served the Falcons back within one. Rib Lake 18-16 after two big kills from Madelyn Anderson and 21-18 a few points later, but the Falcons tied it with three straight points, the last one coming on a big-time save from Campbell Brodhagen. The teams went back and forth from there with the Falcons getting the last two points on a Celia Schindler block and a Rib Lake error.

Anderson’s kill off a block got Rib Lake within 5-4 early in game three when the wheels suddenly fell off for the Redmen. Brodhagen’s short serving run opened up the lead, then a long serving run from Riley Podevels put it out of reach. She had two aces and Hammock got three kills during the run that ended with Abbotsford leading 18-5. The closest Rib Lake got was 19-10 after a Weik ace. Abbotsford closed it out at 25-11 on a Podevels kill.

An early 5-1 lead for Rib Lake in the fourth set quickly vanished. Blomberg’s kill gave the Redmen their last lead at 7-6. A 7-2 spurt put the Falcons up 13-9. Backto- back aces by Clement later made it 2012 and Schindler hit the back line on a kill to reach match point at 24-13. Rib Lake scored four straight, but the hole was way too big to dig out of and Abbotsford clinched it at 25-17.

Abbotsford was credited with 10 aces in the match, including three from Clement and two each from Brodhagen and Podevels. Abbotsford was led in kills by its middles, Hammock and Harris, with 15 and 10 respectively.

Rib Lake got 15 kills from Komarek, six from Anderson and four each from Weik, Camryn Glenzer and Coralee Glenzer. Weik had 17 assists, while Blomberg had 11. Weik led Rib Lake with 20 digs. Scheithauer and Blomberg had nine each. Komarek and Avery Niemi had eight apiece.

Camryn Glenzer had Rib Lake’s lone ace. Nine errors were costly for usually reliable Redmen at the service line.

The Redmen will host another tough opponent tonight, Thursday, when Marawood South contender Edgar visits for a 7 p.m. varsity start. Rib Lake is at Athens Tuesday and then hosts another Marawood South contender, Stratford, on Oct. 2.

Third at Spencer

On Saturday, Rib Lake went 4-1 but a semifinal hiccup prevented them from reaching the championship match of the eight-team Spencer Invitational.

The Redmen went 3-0 in their pool and met the host Rockets in the semifinals of the championship bracket. Spencer knocked them off in three sets to advance to the title match, where Auburndale swept the Rockets.

Rib Lake finished the day with a solid 2-0 sweep of Abbotsford in the third-place match before facing the Falcons again in league play three days later.

In pool play, Rib Lake opened with a 25-21, 25-9 sweep of Augusta. The Redmen got nine kills from Anderson and four apiece from Weik and Komarek. Weik had two aces and 12 assists. Anderson was also involved in five total blocks, including two solos. Scheithauer had six digs. Blomberg and Coralee Glenzer had five each. Komarek and Camryn Glenzer added four apiece.

Rib Lake met Auburndale next and handed the Eagles their only loss of the day in a 25-16, 25-11 sweep. Anderson was a force again with 12 kills and two total blocks. Weik had six kills, Komarek had four and Coralee Glenzer had three. Weik had 14 assists and Blomberg had four. Weik was the digs leader with nine and Scheithauer had eight. Blomberg added six. Rib Lake had just three errors in 47 serves.

The Athens Blue Jays took Rib Lake to a third set in the final match of pool play, but Rib Lake came away a 25-16, 19-25, 1511 winner. Komarek had 10 kills in the win, Anderson had seven and Weik and Coralee Glenzer had four each. Weik had three aces and Niemi had two. Scheithauer had 18 digs and Camryn Glenzer and Weik had 11 each. Blomberg had eight. Weik had 15 assists and Blomberg had 12.

Rib Lake got the first set against Spencer 25-20, but the Rockets gained the momentum in set two and won it 25-15. The third set went back and forth well beyond the typical 15-point limit. The biggest lead either team had was two. Rib Lake led 5-3 and 6-4.

A Komarek ace gave Rib Lake match point at 14-13, but two errors gave Spencer match point. Rib Lake fought that off with an Anderson kill and took a 16-15 lead on a Blomberg ace. Spencer got the next two points. Weik’s roll fell and Niemi served an ace to put the Redmen up 18-17. Spencer got the next two, Rib Lake tied it, then an Ema Schultz kill and a Rib Lake miscue finally ended it at 21-19.

Weik had seven kills for the Redmen who had 20 kills and 25 attack errors in the match. Komarek had three of Rib Lake’s nine aces. Scheithauer had 10 digs, Weik had eight and Camryn Glenzer had five. Blomberg had eight assists and Weik had seven. Camryn Glenzer was part of four blocks and Anderson had three total blocks, including two solos.

Rib Lake served well at 93.9% (46 of 49) with six aces and reduced its hitting errors in a solid effort against Abbotsford in the third-place match. The Redmen dominated game one 25-13 and took a 2522 win in the second set to complete the sweep. Abbotsford finished 3-2 for the day after going 3-0 in its pool. The Falcons lost 2-1 to Auburndale in their semifinal match.

Weik had 10 kills and two block assists. Anderson had four kills. Weik and Komarek served up two aces each. Blomberg had six assists and Coralee Glenzer had four. Weik had eight digs, Camryn Glenzer had six and Blomberg and Scheithauer had five apiece.