Topper volleyball shoots down Red Birds
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GETTING SOME SERIOUS AIR on this jump serve was Glenwood City freshman Ryeah Oehlke (#11) during a volleyball match at home last Thursday evening against Spring Valley. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
By Missy Klatt
Sports Correspondent
The Lady Hilltoppers’ volleyball team is currently sitting on top of Dunn-St. Croix conference with three wins after two decisive victories, both in three sets, over the Cardinals of Spring Valley this past week (Sept. 22nd and 24th).
No doubt head coach Nicole Miller would like to stay there but the Toppers will have to continue to work hard to accomplish this task.
According to Coach Miller, the Toppers serving game improved from their match against Elmwood/Plum City. She also commented that, “The girls passing game both serve receive and hit coverage was great this week!!” As a result, it allowed the Toppers to get numerous side outs along with a lot of kills from the controlled passes to the setters who in turn were able to place the ball well for the hitters.
Tuesday Match
In the match on Tuesday, September 22 in Spring Valley, Glenwood City won in three straight sets, 25-16, 25-9, 25-23.
Leading the attack was senior Maddie Oehlke with nine kills followed by fellow senior Yasmin Mendez with six. Setting them up for the most part was freshman Ryeah Oehlke, who added 17 kill assists to her record. Maddie also had four serving aces for the night with Kristin Dayton and Bella Rassbach adding three aces each.
Defensively, the Lady Tops were led by Bella Rassbach and Alex Peterson with six and five digs respectively. At the net, it was Maddie with one solo block and two block assists.
Miller remarked, “The first match versus Spring Valley, we allowed them to catch up to us in points. We really worked hard on Wednesday night’s practice and it showed on Thursday night’s home match by not allowing them to score more than 18 points in all three of the sets.” The Lady Hilltoppers again won the match in three straight sets by scores of 25-11, 25-12, and 25-18.
“The girls really opened up their hitting game, it was so much fun to watch them get fired up so much after all the great hits they had, they were able to build as a team and individual confidence on the court,” enthused Miller.
She further commented, “Our blockers are doing a good job at the net and are getting their hands on a lot of the hits. We moved the ball around so all of our hitters got a chance to hit the ball and they did it very well.”
Maddie Oehlke once again led the attack for the Toppers with eight kills while Rassbach added six kills. Set assists were spread out fairly evenly throughout the team. At the serving line, it was Ryeah Oehlke with two aces and Mendez with one for the night.
Defensive records were also spread out amongst the players. Rassbach dug up eight balls followed by Eliza Voeltz with seven, Mendez with six and Ryeah O. with five. It was the Oehlke sisters and Kristin Dayton who took care of the blocking. Ryeah had two solo blocks and three assists while sister, Maddie, contributed with four block assists and Dayton had six assists.
“The girls are really starting to work together well on the floor, it really did not take long for them to bond and that was something that really stood out last week. We look forward to taking on Durand next week and are looking to more great volleyball that will be played. It is so much fun to watch them play together when you have a team full of girls who are passionate about the game and it really shows!!” concluded Miller.
The Toppers played at Durand on Tuesday, September 29th and will host the Panthers on Thursday, October 1st.