Elk Mound volleyball vexed by Colfax again, finishes second in the Dunn-St. Croix
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
SLIPPING THROUGH — Kortnee Halgren (#7) and Maggie Bartig (#9) went up for the block and had it slip through their fingers during Thursday evening’s, October 17, four set match. —photo by Amber Hayden
ELK MOUND — For the third straight year and fifth in six seasons, Elk Mound has finished second in the Dunn-St. Croix volleyball race to rival Colfax.
Elk Mound lost three sets to one at home to Colfax in last Thursday’s conference and regular season finale.
The Mounders had swept Boyceville in three sets in a Tuesday, October 15 match, also played in the friendly confines of the Elk Mound gymnasium, to set-up yet another showdown for the conference championship with the Vikings.
The last conference volleyball title that the Mounders won came in 2012, the year before Colfax began its now seven season run atop the Dunn-St. Croix.
Elk Mound finished the D-SC season with a 6-1 record and are 24-15 overall heading into this week’s WIAA regional tournament.
Boyceville kept the Mounders on their toes on Tuesday evening, October 15, in the first and third sets with a difference of three points in the first and two in the third. But the Mounders had their eyes set at a title run and pulled off the victory as they headed into Thursday night, October 17.
Tensions were high as Elk Mound and Colfax took the floor in their October 17 battle, and spectators were on the edge of their seats as the match went four sets. Colfax took the win by scores of 16-25, 15-25, 25-23, and 12-25.
The Mounders began their run in the post-season as they hosted Brookwood of the Scenic Bluffs conference last night, Tuesday, October 22, in a Division 3 regional quarterfinal’s match. Elk Mound earned the fifth seed while Brookwood is seeded twelfth. An Elk Mound win would send them to Thursday’s semifinal contest against the winner of the #13 Mondovi versus #4 Cashton match with the higher seed hosting the game. The regional championship will be played Saturday, October 26. Sectionals will be held next Thursday and Saturday, October 31 and November 2.
Boyceville
The Mounders started their week off on the right foot as they took home a win over the Boyceville Bulldogs in three sets.
However, it would not be easy as Boyceville kept up with Elk Mound in the first and third sets with the Mounders winning close games by counts of 25-22 and 26-24. Elk Mound won the middle set 25-13.
Leading the Mounders on the attack that night was Maggie Bartig with ten kills, averaging 3.3 per set with a kill percentage of 47.6.
Lexi Nechanicky and Sophie Cedarblade were also hot at the net with 17 kills between them. Nechanicky averaged three kills per set while Cedarblade averaged 2.7.
It was a quiet evening from the service line for the Mounders with just seven aces all evening. McKenna Diermeier, Issie Hollister, and Kortnee Halgren each had two and Hailey Blaskowski had one.
Libero McKenna Diermeier also had 22 digs for Elk Mound, followed by Hailey Blaskowski with eight, and Kortnee Halgren with seven.
Halgren was also the lead setter for the Mounders with 32 assists.
Colfax
With a rivalry such as the Mounders and Vikings there was no surprise when Elk Mound hit the floor, ready and in the right head space to face off against Colfax.
The visiting Vikings won the first two sets rather convincingly by scores of 25-16 and 25-15 but the Mounders rallied for a close 25-23 victory. However, Colfax shut the door on any comeback with a 25-12 triumph in the fourth and final set to take the match.
Through four sets, the defense of Elk Mound was on point as they put up 64 digs against Colfax, with libero McKenna Diermeier earning 21 of them.
The first set saw both the Mounders and Vikings settling in and wondering how the evening would progress, but as Colfax jumped out to a quick lead Elk Mound fought to keep themselves relaxed and working toward not making errors.
McKenna Diermeier and Hailey Blaskowski took up the responsibilities of the back row as they continued to see the ball come their direction. Morgan Kinblom would get her fair share of the ball on the serve reception when Colfax realized she was struggling to keep the ball from going out of bounds.
A bright spot for Elk Mound were the front row performances of seniors Maggie Bartig and Sophie Cedarblade as the pair combined for 17 kills.
Cedarblade, like she has done all season, kept her cool in the intense atmosphere and found her way to the net to average 2.5 kills per set in her 41 attempts. Throughout the four sets she fought hard to the last point for Elk Mound.
The third set would see Elk Mound putting forth the effort to win one and keep the match going with an early lead. Colfax worked to keep the game alive but an error on Colfax’s side led to the Mounders’ 25th point and the set win.
One downfall for the Mounders was their inability to block Colfax hitters Kameri Meredith and Sam Pretasky. Maggie Bartig led Elk Mound with two blocks, and Tessah Tyman, Lexi Nechanicky, and Kortnee Halgren each had one.
Several volleys were kept alive during the four-set match when Elk Mound reached the ball milliseconds before it would hit the floor, but it was answered by a save from Colfax as well.
The Mounders and Vikings find themselves in different parts of the 2019 WIAA Division 3 tournament and would only face each other again in a sectional championship game.