Mounders knock Vikings from the ranks of conference volleyball unbeatens
By Cara L. Dempski
ELK MOUND — And then there was one.
Elk Mound stunned Colfax with a 3-1 win and knocked the Vikings from the ranks of Dunn-St. Croix conference unbeatens when the teams played out the latest chapter of the schools long-standing volleyball rivalry in an October 4 showdown in Elk Mound.
The Mounders’ upset victory over the Vikings left Monodvi as the lone unbeaten squad in this year’s conference volleyball standings. The Buffaloes, currently 6-0, hold a half game lead over Boyceville (6-1) and a game advantage over Colfax, which is 5-1 and 14-11 overall. Elk Mound is two games back with a mark of 4-2 and 14-19 overall.
Colfax, who played the winless Hilltoppers in Glenwood City last night, will likely have an opportunity to grab a share of the conference spoils when it hosts Mondovi in the regular season and conference finale tomorrow evening (October 13). The Buffaloes also hosted Boyceville in a key Tuesday showdown.
Elk Mound, whose two conference losses were to Mondovi and Boyceville, were in Elmwood last night and will host Glenwood City Thursday to conclude the regular season.
Elk Mound jumped on visiting Colfax from the opening serve.
The Mounders went up two sets to none on scores of 25-21 and 25-23 before the Vikings clawed the door back open in the third to take the set 25-17. The Elk Mound squad was down by seven points in the fourth when they took advantage of a side out to tie at 13 on a series of serves from Alex Jenson.
Morgan Radtke and Kourtney Zurbuchen capped a long volley later in the set with a block to give Elk Mound the ball and a score of 24-23. The subsequent serve dropped to the floor in front of Viking libero Bryana Buchanan to give the Mounders the set point and the match with a score of 25-23.
“That block was the spark we needed to finish match point,” Mounders’ coach Sam Weix said.
Colfax coach Pam Meredith said after the match she could see the inexperience of her four freshman players against the more experienced Mounder team.
“They are all great players,” Meredith said of the quartet. “I’m excited to see them keep growing.”
Both teams put together some respectable numbers in the match. Elk Mound spiked down 49 kills, while Colfax recorded 39 for the evening. The Vikings logged 12 aces, while the Mounders served for only eight unanswered points.
The Mounders recorded only two blocks, but took 65 digs. In contrast, the Vikings listed one solo block and eight block assists, and took 63 digs.
Weix said the annual match with Colfax is always fun and intense. She credits the Vikings’ coaching staff and smart, aggressive players with the team’s success.
Kameri Meredith and Rachel Scharlau are both credited with eight of the Vikings’ kills against Elk Mound. Freshman Samantha Pretasky and Savannah Henricks each logged five kill shots, Makayla Mattson recorded four, Bryana Buchanan landed two, and Megan Schleusner spiked down a kill.
Sophomore Morgan Radtke led the kill-count for Elk Mound with 16. Allie Weber added another nine kills, Zurbuchen drilled in eight, and Riley Radtke and Lauren Scharlau added six kills apiece. Karie Jo Nigon completed the count with four kills.
Mady Decker and Jozie Buchanan led the Vikings with three aces each. Meredith and Pretasky contributed two more apiece, and Schleusner and Bryana Buchanan each added one more ace.
Nigon led the Mounders with five ace serves. Weber contributed another two, and Madysen Borofka tacked on one more.
Bryana Buchanan, Colfax’s senior libero, was responsible for taking away 14 Elk Mound attacks with her digs. Mady Decker contributed 12 more digs, and Meredith added 10 to foil a further 22 Mounder attacks. Schleusner and Jozie Buchanan each took six digs, Pretasky provided five, Henricks is credited with four, and Scharlau tied with Taylor Irwin to take three digs each. Mattson added one dig to the total.
On the Elk Mound side, seniors Sarah Sweeney and Karie Jo Nigon chalked up 13 digs each, as did junior Weber. Zurbuchen foiled four more Viking attacks, and Scharlau and Riley Radtke each picked up three digs.
Libero Abby Curry, sophomore Morgan Radtke and junior Alex Jenson each added two more digs to the Mounders’ grand total.
Weix said the Mounders played a sound match against Colfax. She noted her team’s passing was not the strongest, but the Elk Mound girls still did a nice job of making strong plays.
“The girls played the ball aggressively and really eliminated the errors we’ve seen in past games,” Weix stated.