Never count the Bluejays out.
The MHS volleyball team rallied from an 11-7 deficit in the fifth set of Saturday’s match with D.C. Everest to put the finishing touches on a 3-0 day in the WVC #1 Meet at Wausau West. Merrill improved to 6-0 in Valley play.
“It’s a great feeling to accomplish our goal for the day!” MHS coach Kris Krug said. “The girls worked hard today without giving up.
“After playing well in the first two sets against D.C. Everest, our passes fell apart in the third set and we couldn’t get our offense to engage. D.C.E. wasn’t about to roll over for us. (The girls) really showed their character, though, coming back in the last set to take the match from DCE.
“Emily Page had a good day with 88 assists. Anna Finnell finished with 34 kills and Rylee Folz with 25. Freshman Maddix Bonnell had a stellar day with 9 aces, serving at 98% — she also contributed 16 kills and 34 digs.
The Jays knocked off Everest by a 25-16, 25-21, 15-25, 15-25, 15-13 score. They also cruised to 25-15, 25-8, 25-13 victory over West after a 25-10, 25-9, 25-17 win over Wis. Rapids.
Contributions came from: Finnell (34 kills, 3 blocks 9 digs); Folz (25 k, 3 aces, 5.5 bl, 7 d); Bonnell (16 k, 9 ac, 34 d); Page (7 k, 88 assists, 29 d); Marnholtz (4 ac, 43 d); Morgan Wardall (18 k, 4.5 bl, 11 d); Katie Zelinski (19 k, 3 bl, 3 as, 7 d); Ali Zamzow (5 ac, 19 d); Chey Pyka (3 ac, 15 d); Lindsay Casper (10 as); Mariah Turenne (3 as).
SPASH splash
The Bluejay girls pulled a 25-12, 17-25, 25-17, 25-15 win over SPASH at home on Thursday.
“We are taking our matches one set at a time – working on improving our communication and intensity levels,” Krug said. “The first set Rylee Folz controlled the net. She put up a solid block and made the defense scramble.
“The question remains, ‘How can you win 25 – 12 in the first set and lose the next one 25 – 17?’
“Maddix Bonnell had a good night. The team as a whole was 97.8% serving, 32 kills, 13.5 blocks, and 60 digs. They are starting to come together as a team.”
Production came from: Folz (7 k, 6.5 bl); Bonnell (7 k, 17 d); Page (19 as, 11 d); Zelinski (6 k, 2 bl, 4 as); Wardall (4 k, 3 ac, 3 bl); Marnholtz (12 d); Zamzow (13 d); Finnell (6 k); Pyka (3 d).
Merrill is now 21-6 on the season.