Hilltopper volleyball loses at home to Vikings, drops all four matches in Somerset tourney

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The enthusiasm and momentum that Glenwood City had built in winning its first volleyball match of the season in Boyceville a week early seemed to have all but dissipated by the time the Hilltoppers welcomed Colfax last Thursday, October 5 for a Dunn-St. Croix matchup. 

The Hilltoppers started slowly against the visiting Vikings and never really got on track as they lost in straight sets.

Two days later, Glenwood City played in the Somerset tournament. Despite showing marked improvement, the Toppers still finished without a win as they dropped games against Stanley-Boyd, Ellsworth, Colfax and Elmwood-Plum City.

The local netters (1-4, 1-21) will play a pair of Dunn-St. Croix contests this week to close out the regular  season with playoffs set to begin next Tuesday, October 17. The Hilltoppers were in Elk Mound last night (Tuesday, October 10) and will finish out the regular season at home Thursday against Elmwood-Plum City in the annual “Dig Pink” night.

Although their half of the bracket had not been seeded as of Monday afternoon, Glenwood City will be playing in the top half of the WIAA Division 3 Barron Sectional. The Toppers will be on the road next Tuesday to open regional competition with the opponent to be announced soon.

Colfax

The score was tied early in the first set against Colfax, but the Vikings scored seven straight points to take command. Strong net play and a solid service game helped the Vikings extend their lead throughout the opening set, eventually leading to a 25-9 victory.

The Toppers fell behind 4-1 to open play in set number two but they pulled to within a point of the Vikings at 7-6 on a Michaela Blaser block and a Madison Caress hit. But, Glenwood City continued to struggle at the net as the Vikings rolled to a 25-16 win.

The Toppers took a 3-0 advantage in the third set, but the Vikings evened the score at six and slowly began to pull ahead. After losing eight of the next 11 points and trailing 9-14, Glenwood City took a time out. Unfortunately, it didn’t impede Colfax’s momentum as they doubled up Glenwood City 11-22. Colfax closed out the set and match with an ace, a tip  and a kill shot to win 25-11.

The Toppers finished with 14 kills in the match with senior Madison Caress collecting eight. Sophomore Hailey Ketola notched eight of the squad’s 11 assists.

Several players earned digs in the match. Alayna LaValley and Jenna McCarthy registered seven each to lead the team, Opal Voeltz finished with six,

Ketola tallied five and Sydney Grant and Michaela Blaser finished with four apiece.

Somerset Tournament

Although Glenwood City lost all of its matches at the October 7 Somerset tournament in straight sets, three of the Hilltoppers four contests were fairly close affairs.

The exception was their matchup against Ellsworth. The Panthers soundly defeated the Hilltoppers 25-7 and 25-15.

Against Stanley-Boyd, Glenwood City played well in the opening set, losing by just two points,  23-25. The Orioles swept with a 25-17 win in the second set.

Playing Colfax for the second time in two days, Glenwood City played better in the teams’ second go-round. Despite battling hard in both sets, Glenwood City lost 19-25 and 21-25.

Facing its second Dunn-St. Croix foe of the day, the Toppers fell to the Wolves of Elmwood-Plum City 16-25 and 23-25.