EM volleyball ends season with 5-set loss to Luther
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ONALASKA — Elk Mound’s 2022 volleyball campaign came to an end last Tuesday with a heartbreaking five-set loss to Onalaska Luther in the opening round of the WIAA Division 3 regional tournament.
The Knights, seeded 6th, outlasted the 11th-seeded Mounders to win the October 18 quarterfinal regional match held at Luther High School.
Luther dominated the opening set of the tournament contest winning 25-14. But the Mounders warmed up in the second set losing by just two points, 25-23.
Elk Mound did not panic, however, and rebounded to win the next two sets to even things up. The Lady Mounders took set number three by a 25-20 score and followed it with a 25-18 victory in the fourth set to force a fifth and final game.
In that final game, Luther jumped out to an early advantage and maintained a healthy lead en route winning that fifth set and match, 15-8.
Two days later, Luther fell in five sets to third-seeded Cashton in the regional semifinal.
The senior class led Elk Mound in that final match against Luther. Gracie Carlton finished with a team-high 18 kills while Stella Rhude adding 11. Tori Blaskowski tallied 31 assists and 19 digs to top the team charts last Tuesday with Brooke Emery chipping in for 17 digs and Lauren Garnett and Lydia Levra 16 each. Levra also had seven aces for the Mounders and Kate Mohr finished with four blocks.
Elk Mound finished the year with a 10-24 record and a 5-2 mark in the Dunn-St. Croix, good for a third-place finish.
Last week’s loss was the final match for a talented and large group of seniors. The Mounders had to say goodbye to Tori Blaskowski, Aleah Kurtzhals, Gracie Carlton, Lillian Vang, Stella Rhude, Kate Mohr, Karsyn Heath, Brooke Emery, Lauren Garnett, Sierra Simpson, Grace Roder and Cecilia Soto.