UWS Volleyball Goes 1-3

NSO-NEWS RELAES

 
After facing some tough competition last weekend in Oshkosh and coming home winless, the Yellowjacket volleyball team was back in action this weekend at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational. On Friday they took on the University of Dubuque and Saint Mary’s University. Saturday, the competition was the host team from Ripon and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Having lost six of their last seven matches entering the weekend, the Yellowjackets had a chance to right the ship. However, Dubuque has been playing better ball of late, having won three of their last five matches after starting out the year with five straight losses. Saint Mary’s meanwhile started off the season by winning five of its first six matches and is still above .500 despite having lost four of five. Saturday’s first foe, Ripon, came into the day at 10-5 on the year, while MSOE sat at 5-6.

In the end, Friday’s opponents got the best of the Yellowjackets. Saturday, the Yellowjackets were on the verge of sweeping, but MSOE battled back to win the final three sets and the match, sending the Yellowjackets home 1-3 for the weekend.

Dubuque 3, Superior 0

The going has been tough recently for the Yellowjackets, as they have not only struggled to win matches, but also games. In four matches last weekend, Superior lost two matches by a score of 3-0. That trend continued against the University of Dubuque.

In the first set, Dubuque jumped out to an early 9-4 lead before Superior rallied to tie it at 9-9. Then, Dubuque went on to score 10 of the next 11 points, leading to two Yellowjacket timeouts. The timeouts couldn’t change the momentum, as Dubuque kept the Yellowjackets at arms-length the rest of the set, winning going away, 25-16.

The second set was much more entertaining. Play was back-and-forth until the Yellowjackets went on a 5-0 run to take a small lead at 13-10. Dubuque responded with a 4-0 run of its own to regain the lead. Superior held its last lead at 17-16 before the game changed on two straight points. Those two consecutive points wound up being the difference, as both teams played the rest of the match back-and-forth. Despite tying it up at 22-all, the Yellowjackets couldn’t overcome Dubuque, losing the set 25-22.

If people in attendance thought the second set was ten times better than the first set, then they probably didn’t want the third set to end. This set was a marathon, with a hodgepodge of points scored. This one was close throughout, despite the Yellowjackets taking a 14-9 lead part-way through the set. With the Yellowjackets up 17-13, Dubuque responded, just like they did in the previous two sets, with a three-point run, followed by another three-point run, with a Superior point in between, to take a 19-18 lead. Superior rallied and went up 23-22, but lost the lead 24-23 before Head Coach Lynne Deadrick called a timeout to see if she could rally her team. Whatever she said worked, as Superior went on to score two straight points to take a 25-24 lead. Dubuque responded with two straight of its own, as the teams went back-and-forth again. Dubuque killed home two straight points and then won the game on a service ace by Klaudia Basierak, to make the final score of the third set 31-29 and the final score of the match 3-0.

Keely Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko) was Superior’s leader in assists with 36, while Chelsey Walerius (New Prague, Minn./Tri-City United), Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko) and Mackenzie Dahlin (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) all recorded double-digit digs with 14, 14, and 11, respectively. Bandelin also led the team in kills with 13 while Leah Nightingale (Dayton, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret’s) added 11.

The University of Dubuque was led by Basierak, who had 16 kills, and Hannah Zieser, who had 41 assists.

Saint Mary’s 3, Superior 0

In Superior’s second match of the night, the Yellowjackets, perhaps fatigued from the exhausting final set of the opener, found themselves in tough against Saint Mary’s, as they were never able to get on track and dropped the match 3-0.

Saint Mary’s got off to a fast start and never looked back, taking the opening set 25-11. The Yellowjackets were better in the second set, but Saint Mary’s again proved too much and came away with a 25-17 win. In the final set of the match, the Cardinals dominated play and won 25-14 to complete the 3-0 sweep.

Offensively the Yellowjackets struggled, finishing the match with a .013 attack percentage. Desirae Marcott (Abbotsford, Wis./Abbotsford) led the way, finishing the match with five kills. Bandelin and Elizabeth Koza (Washburn, Wis./Washburn) had four kills apiece. Deadrick led the Yellowjackets with 16 assists.

Defensively Walerius had seven of the team’s 16 digs.

Saint Mary’s balanced attack was led by Kenzie Lind and Molly Grover (nine kills each) and Macki Fadness had eight. Brittney Hanson had 20 assists and Taylor MacVey had 12. Lind and Morgan Thomas tied with a team-high nine digs.

Superior 3, Ripon College 0

If Friday played out like a nightmare, then Saturday was a happy dream for Superior. The Yellowjackets started off their day with a clean 3-0 sweep of the hosts from Ripon. All the sets were close, but Superior was able to pull it out, getting the win to improve their record to 7-10 on the year.

In the first set, Superior got off to a fast start, leading Ripon 10-6 in the early going. From there, Superior held Ripon at bay, despite letting the Red Hawks get within two points late in the set at 20-18. Superior responded, however, scoring three of the next four points en route to winning the set, 25-21.

The second set was a series of runs. Ripon took a 5-4 lead early. Then, Superior tallied five straight points to take a 9-5 lead. It was back-and-forth between the two teams until the score was 14-11, in favor of Superior. Superior then scored three straight points to force Ripon to take a timeout, with the score 17-11. Superior scored the first point after the timeout, making the lead 18-11. Superior held a 20-13 lead, then Ripon put together one last effort to get back into the set. Ripon pulled off seven straight points to tie the game at 20-20. Superior answered though, with three points in a row. Then, it was Ripon’s turn as they answered with three straight points, to tie it up 23-all. Ripon won two of the next three points to jump ahead 25-24. The Yellowjackets answered, however, winningtThree straight points to close out the set 27-25.

The third set was just as close as the first two. Ripon jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the opening minutes, but Superior battled back, taking a 15-13 lead after tallying three straight points. Ripon would regain the lead late in the match after a service ace by Emily Gary to make it 23-22. A Superior timeout seemed to work, as the Yellowjackets went on to score three straight points to take the set and the match from Ripon, 25-23.

The Yellowjackets had a balanced attack, in terms of kills, with Kaitlyn Holen (Fergus Falls, Minn./Underwood) leading the way with 10. Koza and Bandelin each had nine. Deadrick had 33 more assists in the match, giving her 85 assists on the weekend with one match remaining.

Defensively, the Yellowjackets were balanced, as well. Waleris, Deadrick, and Bandelin all had eight digs to lead the team.

MSOE 3, Superior 2

The final match of the weekend for the Yellowjackets provided them with both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  With very little time between the win over Ripon and the match with the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the Yellowjackets rode the momentum and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match. MSOE came roaring back, however, taking the next two sets to tie the match before securing the victory in the decisive fifth set.

The first set was tight, with neither team able to build a decisive lead. MSOE took the first three points and eventually built a five-point cushion at 13-8. The Yellowjackets battled back, riding the service of Bandelin to win eight of ten points and take their first lead of the match at 16-14. Koza had three kills during the streak. The Yellowjackets would never surrender the lead as the teams went back-and-forth the rest of the way, and won the opening set 25-23.

In the second set the Yellowjackets played arguably their best volleyball of the weekend. With the set tied 9-9 the Yellowjackets got hot, winning 16 of the next 22 points to take the set. Long service streaks from Bandelin and Dahlin helped the Yellowjackets to the 10-point win in the set.

On the cusp of completing the sweep, the Yellowjackets just couldn’t seem to pull ahead in the third set. The only Superior lead of the set came at 7-6, before the Raiders went on a 5-1 run to take the lead for good. A 3-0 run stretched the advantage to five and MSOE never looked back, taking the set 25-18 and cutting Superior’s lead in the match to 2-1.

In the fourth set the Yellowjackets fell behind early and never led. Midway through the set the Raiders, won seven of ten points to open up a 12-7 lead. A mini-run on Holen’s serve that included a pair of kills from Koza pulled the Yellowjackets to within two at 17-15, but MSOE won four straight points to pull away, and ultimately take the fourth set 25-21.

The fifth set was like the fourth in that the Yellowjackets never held the lead. An early 3-0 helped the Raiders pull away early. Superior rallied late, however, but it wasn’t enough to get back into the match. Trailing 13-8, the Yellowjackets won three straight points to get to within two, but that’s as close as they got and the Raiders closed out the set, winning the 15-12 and coming from behind for the 3-2 win in the match.

As a team the Yellowjackets attacked at a clip of .283 in the match. Koza had 21 kills to lead the team, followed by Bandelin who had 19. Nightingale also reached double figures, finishing the match with 11. Deadrick had 50 assists in the match, establishing a new high for the season. On defense Walerius had 17 digs.

Maria Bintz had 21 kills to lead MSOE, who got 59 assists from Abby Born.

All-Tournament Team: Keely Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko) was named to the All-Tournament team, after dishing up 135 assists in the four matches. Deadrick also had five service aces, 10 kills and 23 digs on the weekend.

The Yellowjackets (7-11, 0-0 WIAC) will get their first taste of WIAC competition when they host UW-Eau Claire at Mertz Mortorelli Gym September 26. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and can be streamed live on the iFan Sports Network.