The Hatchet volleyball team swept through three GNC opponents one more time to put the clinching touches on a sixth consecutive regional title last week.
Third-ranked Tomahawk (D2) handled Lakeland, Antigo and Rhinelander, all at home and in that order, to set up Thursday’s sectional match between regional top seeds with Altoona at Medford.
The Hatchets took down the Hodags 25-15, 25-11, 25-16 on Saturday.
“The girls came out a little flat in game one where Rhinelander built a 7-1 lead but the girls weren’t rattled,” THS coach Amanda Kriese said. “They stayed composed and soon were able to chip away points to take the lead. We did a great job of being aggressive at the net and had one of our best blocking nights of the season.
“The girls have worked hard for this and are super excited to be moving on to sectionals again.”
Offerings were given by: Anna Nyberg (17 kills, 2 aces, 2 blocks, 6 digs); Becca Doughty (35 assists, 4 bl, 9 d); Hanna Meyer (7 k, 8 d); Emily Schneider (7 k, 2 ac, 4 bl); Hannah Feest (4 ac, 9 d); Colynn Behling (3 k, 6 bl, 3 d); Megan Lee (4 k, 3 as); Lexi Graeber (2 ac, 4 d).
Antigo anticlimax
The Red Robins fell 25-13, 25-20 and 25-12 in Thursday’s match.
“The girls did a nice job of working together and staying focused throughout the match,” Kriese said. “I thought our passing was solid for most of the match and we did a good job of finding holes in their defense with smart shots. We stayed patient on long rallies and sided out at 70% in the last set, which is amazing.”
Producing for THS were: Nyberg (20 k, 15 d); Doughty (5 k, 2 ac, 38 as, 11 d); Meyer (13 k, 4 as, 17 d); Feest (10 d); Schneider (4 k, 2 bl, 4 d); Megan Lee (3 k); Behling (3 bl); Graeber (6 d).
Lakeland lambasted
The T-Birds were blindsided in last Tuesday’s 25-11, 25-7, 25-7 match.
“The girls did a great job tonight of taking care of our side of the net and serving aggressively to take Lakeland out of their game,” Kriese said. “Tonight we played consistently the whole match and look to continue improving Thursday.”
Contributions came from: Nyberg (10 k, 2 ac, 8 d d); Doughty (3 k, 3 ac, 34 as); Meyer (9 k, 5 ac); Graeber (3 ac, 6 d); Feest (9 d); Behling (7 k); Megan Lee (4 k, 2 bl); Schneider (5 ac).