Bulldogs’ volleyball fares well in pair of quads

By Cara L. Dempski

BOYCEVILLE — For the second time in less than a week, the Boyceville volleyball team copped the title at another home quadrangular, besting Lake Holcombe, South Shore and Spring Valley to finish with an unblemished 3-0 mark on August 30.

Two days later, the Lady Bulldogs nearly added a third quad title to their early-season resume, going 2-1 at Fall Creek on September 1. Boyceville beat Chetek-Weyerhaeuser and Owen-Withee before falling to the host Crickets in the finale.

Boyceville is now an impressive 8-1 after just two weeks of play.

Boyceville quad

The Bulldogs hosted Lake Holcombe, South Shore, and Spring Valley for their August 30 quad. Boyceville beat all three teams in straight sets.

Coach Corrie Roemhild said it took a while for the team to get into a good flow.

“After we were able to start playing in sync with one another, we made some really great plays,” Roemhild said. “The girls played scrappy.”

The Tuesday games saw some excellent dives and saves, which Roemhild explained made some of the volleys very exciting.

Senior Brooklyn Hellmann served seven aces in the team’s first match of the afternoon against the South Shore Cardinals. Just behind her with five aces was libero Jaida Peterson. Madysn Riek recorded top honors for kills against South Shore, logging five more for her season.

Erica Sempf and Hannah Guy provided three kills and two kills respectively in the Bulldogs’ 25-16 and 25-5 wins for the first match. Sempf also came away from the match with five digs, while Peterson and Brooklyn Hellmann tacked four digs each onto their records.

The Bulldogs took on a second team of Cardinals when they faced Dunn-St. Croix Conference foe Spring Valley in their second match of the quad. Boyceville again came away with the win, beating Spring Valley 25-16 in the first set and 25-19 in the second.

Guy took over the top spot for kills in this match, putting down five against the Cardinals, while Cassie Malean was just behind her with four. Morgan Kuhn provided the team with three serving aces, and Guy and Riek each logged two apiece.

The Lake Holcombe Chieftains were the last ones to face the Bulldogs for the night. Again the Bulldogs made short work of their opponent, scoring a 25-20 victory in the first set and 25-13 in the second. Guy provided three more service aces in the match, and Hellmann provided two.

Riek led the team with six kills, while Malean chalked up five, and Sempf and Guy provided three each. Malean provided substantial defense, taking 10 digs. Guy followed her with seven, and Peterson with six. Hellmann, Riek and Kuhn all recorded five digs in the final match of the night.

“I was happy with our serving percentage, along with many aces, which really allowed us to keep momentum on our side,” Roemhild said of her team after the matches. “It was nice to walk away from this with three wins.”

Fall Creek Quad

Boyceville battled for Bulldog supremacy in their first match of September at a quad in Fall Creek.

The team came away with a decisive 2-0 victory, winning the first match of the night against Chetek-Weyerhaeuser. Boyceville registered a 25-20 win in the first set and prevailed 25-8 in the second.

Brooklyn Hellmann led the team with four aces during first match. Hannah Guy logged two more, and Jaida Peterson and Maddy Riek recorded one each.

Riek fired nine kills at the other Bulldog team, Guy added five more, and Cassie Malean and Erica Sempf knocked down four each. Hellmann and Haley Wold each chalked up a kill apiece.

Guy had 11 digs in the match, Peterson and Riek had 10, Hellmann and Malean recorded six, Morgan Kuhn chalked up three, and Sempf returned two.

Boyceville took on Owen-Withee in the second round, again winning 2-0. The Blackhawks put up a fight in the first set, making the score 28-26 when the Bulldogs took match point, but then fell to  Boyceville 25-16 in the second set.

Aces were a little scarce in the second match, with Malean, Peterson, and Riek recording one each. Guy rained eight kills on the Blackhawks, Malean landed seven, Riek six, and Sempf one. Peterson and Riek tied for digs in the match with each earning 12. Malean added 11 digs, Guy put up nine, Hellmann held up defensively with eight, and Kuhn kept three in play.

Host Fall Creek was the first team to beat the Bulldogs this season, narrowly edging Boyceville in straight sets. Both sets ended in tight scores of 25-23.

Only two players nabbed aces in the match. Riek added five to her record, and Hellmann added three. Kills were somewhat harder to get, as Guy landed only seven in the match. Malean took another four, Riek three, and Sempf two.

Defensively, the Bulldogs saw higher numbers, with Peterson recording 12 digs against the Crickets. Hellmann took 10 digs, Guy nine, Malean eight, Riek seven, Kuhn five, and Sempf one.

Overall, coach Corrie Roemhild was happy with the team’s play.

“We were able to get our hands on most of the opposing teams’ attacks,” Roemhild said.

She also stated the team put up some solid blocks that either resulted in scoring or helped to slow the ball down, displaying the skill with which the team’s defenders covered the court. Roemhild said the team played hard, but some things just didn’t go the Bulldogs’ way.

“Some of the skills we normally do well and can rely on just weren’t falling into place,” Roemhild explained. “We made a few mistakes we haven’t been making.”

Roemhild said losing two close sets to Fall Creek opened the team’s eyes to the work still to be done. She is hoping the team will become more determined to push itself and continue to rise.

Boyceville will meet for another Bulldog battle with Chetek-Weyerhaeuser on September 6 before heading to Amery on September 8.