Falcons take first in Cobleigh Invite, open 7-0
The Abbotsford volleyball team started their 2023 season with a bang, winning all seven of the matches they have played thus far and losing only three sets in those matches. The Falcons started off the year by defeating both Cadott and Neillsville 2-1 in an opening quad in Cadott before moving on to win the Cobleigh Invite hosted by Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln this past Saturday.
The results at Saturday’s tournament speak for themselves; five matches, five wins. An impressive set of victories ultimately leading to the Falcons being able to call themselves tournament champs.
Abbotsford started off their day on the court by dispatching the host team, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln, in straight sets, 25-18 and 25-14. The match was not overly close, the home town Red Raiders unable to keep pace with the Falcons, giving Abbotsford the ability to go to their bench with some leisure in the second game. Calley Ruesch led the team in kills, notching six on nine attempts. Sydney Falteisek and Celia Schnidler both had four kills each. Briseida Escalera provided some power from behind the service line, recording four serving aces. Falteisek and Escalera picked out the most opposing spikes, recording eight and six digs each.
The Manawa Wolves fared similarly against the Falcons, falling to Abbotsford 28-18 and 25-16. While Abbostford’s offense was a little less effective than in their first game, they still did enough to take the comfortable victory. Falteisek was the team’s top scorer in the contest, recording seven kills and three aces. Sommer Brodhagen had two solo blocks and Ruesch had double digit digs, finishing the game with 10.
Their third round victory over the Ashwaubenon Jaguars was perhaps a little unconventional when one looked at the final stat sheet. Under most circumstances, 12 kills and 13 serve receiving errors over two sets is not a recipe for success. And yet, despite that fact, the Falcons still came away on top, winning 25-19 and 26-24 in straight sets. Ruesch and Escalera picked up two-thirds of the Falcons’ kills in the match, walking away with four each and Ruesch added four aces. Faith Sperl set up seven of the twelve kills and also had two aces.
Wausau East stood between the Falcons and their shot at being named tournament champions, but Abbotsford once again took care of business, defeating the Lumberjacks 25-20 and 25-11. Claudia Garcia picked up five aces and Abbotsford dominated with the senior at the service line, picking up 17 points on her 20 serves. The flexibility of Abbotsford’s offense was also on display, with six players coming up with at least two kills in the two set match.
It would not be until the final match with the also undefeated Lodi Blue Devils that the Falcons would finally be dealt their first set loss. Lodi jumped out to a 1-0 lead after taking the first set 25-17, but the Falcons were not out yet. They flipped the score in the second set, this time finding themselves on the right side of a 25-17 final. They then dominated the tie-breaker, claiming first place after a 15-6 victory. Brodhagen had double digit kills in the match, ending with 10 and Falteisek chalked up eight more. Ruesch and Sperl each had three aces and Escalera led the team with 16 digs in the final match.
Cadott Quad
The Falcons picked up two match wins in their first action of the 2023 season with wins over the Cadott Hornets and the Neillsville Warriors last Tuesday.
Abbotsford started out strong with a 25-15 win over the Hornets in their first set, but Cadott was able to edge out the visiting Falcons 25-22 in the second. The Falcons took the grudge match and their first win of the season with a 15-7 victory in the final set. Ruesch ended the day with six kills and Falteisek and Brodhagen both had five kills each. Caylee Clement had a solid day from the service line, coming away with six aces to lead the team. The sophomore also was tied with Brodhagen for the team lead in digs, with the pair recording nine each.
The second match was similar to the first in that Abbotsford cruised in the first set, taking the game 25-18, only to fall in a close second set, this time falling 26-24. The Falcons once again came out on top in the final set, defeating Neillsville 15-13 to take their second match of the season. Abby came away with solid results on the offensive end, picking up 30 kills to just 6 hitting errors on 78 attempts for a .308 hitting percentage. They also picked up 14 aces, though 13 serving errors somewhat dampened their success from the service line. Brodhagen led the way with 10 kills and two aces while Falteisek added seven kills and three aces. The duo also played well on the defensive end, with Falteisek recording a team-high nine digs and Brodhagen contributing seven of her own. Garcia led Abbotsford with four aces and Oriah Harris was part of three blocks.
