The Hatchet volleyball cut through Colby like a sharp scythe at harvest time in last Tuesday’s 25-11, 25-14, 25-17 sweep.
“I thought our passing was improved in the first game and that allowed us to take control of the tempo of the match and run our offense relatively well,” THS Jen Pfannerstill said. “Our blockers did a good job of putting up a disciplined block and our diggers were in position.
“At times when the match got a bit chaotic, we did a solid job of staying focused and keeping control, which is a sign that we are maturing on the court. I thought nerves were less of a factor tonight for our younger players.
“They continue to improve and are extremely coachable. We are also starting to develop team chemistry which is really important on the court.”
Propelling the Hatchets were: Anna Nyberg (15 k, 8 d); Becca Doughty (4 k, 28 a, 11 d); Hanna Meyer (6 k, 2 bl, 10 d); Alex DuPlayee (4 k, 7 d); Amanda Schneider (10 d); Emily Schneider (3 k, 4 ac, 2 bl); Hanna Doughty (2 bl).
Tomahawk improved to 17-7 on the season, including 3 losses to Merrill, and is at 1-0 in the GNC heading into Saturday’s GNC #1 Meet at Rhinelander.
Dodgeball
Tomahawk posted a 5-0 record to cruise to the title of Saturday’s 8-team Dodgeville Invite.
In pool play, The THS girls swept Laconia (25-14, 25-11), Poynette (25-4, 25-11) and Waterloo (25-17, 25-13). The Hatchets grabbed a 25-9, 25-4 crossover match win from Oakfield and bested Laconia 25-13, 25-11 for the title.
“We really stressed going in to this tournament that we needed to play with confidence and control the tempo of the matches,” Pfannerstill said. “The young players have 25 matches under their belts and it’s time to realize that when we want to be very good we can do so.
“The girls really responded to that challenge and were very focused throughout the day. They didn’t let teams get anything going offensively and our serve receive was much improved.
“Our team chemistry continued to build throughout the day. Serving and serve receive were solid-serving especially continues to be one of our greatest weapons-and we had control of every match.”
Leading THS were: Nyberg (63 k, 12 ac, 4 bl, 44 d); B. Doughty (6 ac, 6 bl, 105 a, 21 d); DuPlayee (18 k, 6 ac, 24 d); A. Schneider (10 ac, 7 bl, 20 d); E. Schneider (11 k, 12 ac, 3 bl, 4 d); H. Meyer (14 k, 3 bl); H. Doughty (6 k, 8 bl), Maddie Garrison (13d); Hannah Feest (7 d); Megan Lee (3 as).