The Merrill girls accomplished a huge goal when they qualified for the WIAA state volleyball tournament, but Thursday’s quarterfinal certainly didn’t meet their expectations or desires.
The 31-7 Bluejays ran into a buzz-saw in 36-13 Germantown, an Honorable Mention selection in the state rankings.
The Warhawks advanced out of the quarterfinals for the first time in school history with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-14 straight sets victory.
Germantown powered its win with solid hitting, converting at a .347 rate, and fast-paced serving that made it difficult for Merrill to run its offense. The Jays were limited to a .023 hitting percentage and had nearly as many hitting errors (26) as kills (28). Germantown finished with 42 kills to only nine errors, although several of the Warhawks’ best shots hit the line or fell just in. Carly Townsend and Chloe Bingenheimer each made 11 kills for the Warhawks. Townsend and Chirstina Nenning offered 16 assists apiece.
The Bluejays were paced in hitting by Anna Finnell (8 kills), Rylee Folz (6), Katie Zelinski (5) and Maddix Bonnell (3). Emily Page gave 24 assists and 7 digs, while lone senior starter Morgan Marnholtz finished with 12 digs. Chey Pyka (6) and Ali Zamzow (5) added digs.