UWS Out Last Eagles

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

With time running out on their season, the Yellowjackets are looking to make a late-season push to salvage the campaign and qualify for the WIAC post-season. A big conference match against UW-La Crosse on Friday night might have been just what the Yellowjackets needed to kickstart that playoff push. Not only did the Yellowjackets put an end to their seven-game losing streak, but they also got a win to move their conference record to 1-2. Playing their most inspired volleyball of the year is a good omen for the Yellowjackets, as they have five tough conference matches remaining in the regular season.

Yellowjackets 3, La Crosse 2

The Yellowjackets got off to a fast start in the first set, jumping out to an early 6-3 lead courtesy of three service aces by Keely Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko). La Crosse would battle back to tie the score and eventually take an 8-6 lead. Superior would take an 18-15 lead late in the set, but surrendered the lead at 19-18. It wasn’t the first time the Yellowjackets lost a lead late in the set this season, but tonight they flipped the script. The Yellowjackets scored six points in a row to take a 24-19 lead. They won the set on a kill by Leah Nightingale (Dayton, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret’s) to take the first set from La Crosse, 25-20.

In the second set, Superior fell behind 6-2, but then rallied back to take an 8-6 lead on another service ace from Deadrick. The two teams battled back and forth, but La Crosse managed to open up a 17-14 lead. Both teams continued to battle. With La Crosse up 21-17, the Yellowjackets went on two three-point runs, with the second three-point run giving them a 23-22 lead. This time, it was La Crosse who battled back just a little harder, as they scored three points in a row to take the set from the Yellowjackets, 25-23.

The third set was just as tightly contested as the first two sets. But unlike the first two sets, the lead didn’t change but four times, all coming in the opening stages of the set. By the 10-point mark, La Crosse was never really threatened by the Yellowjackets. The Eagles opened up a 17-11 lead, and managed to hold the Yellowjackets at arms-length for the rest of the set. La Crosse would go on to win the third set, 25-19 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

With their backs firmly against the wall in the fourth set, the Yellowjackets knew it was now or never. Thankfully, they played like that too. They jumped on the Eagles, gaining a 10-4 advantage in the opening minutes of the set. It took them a while but the Eagles clawed their way back into the set, trailing by one at 19-18. But the Yellowjackets didn’t flinch, scoring six of the last seven points to win the fourth set, 25-19, and send the match to an exciting fifth and final set.

The fifth set was hotly contested throughout. There were nine lead changes most of them favoring Superior, thankfully. With Superior up one point, 11-10, they put together their most important point run of the season. They scored three points in a row to take a 14-10 lead, giving themselves a big enough cushion to win the match, 15-11. The Yellowjackets had broken their losing streak and gotten a big conference win.

Big games tonight came from Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko), who returned to herself of old, as she recorded a match-high 23 kills along with nine digs. Deadrick had 44 assists and seven digs. Nightingale had 11 kills.

Perhaps, the unsung heroes of the night were the trio of Chelsey Walerius (New Prague, Minn./Tri-City United), Jordan Olson (Cohasset, Minn./Grand Rapids), and Mackenzie Dahlin (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna), as the three of them recorded double-digit digs (13, 13, and 11, respectively).

La Crosse was led by four players who had double-digit kills, with Leah Putzier topping the list with 20. Jaclyn Barrette had a match-high 50 assists and Melanie Martin had 22 digs.

With the big win, Superior moves to 1-2 in WIAC play and 8-17 overall. They have little time to enjoy the win, however, as they have an even bigger match against UW-Platteville, Saturday at noon in Platteville, Wisconsin. Platteville, like the Yellowjackets, picked up its first conference win tonight against Eau Claire, making Saturday’s match even bigger. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.