BELLEVILLE - New Glarus volleyball coach Lacy Bloedorn thought her team may have an edge with Belleville playing without star outside hitter Natalie Manion.
Manion was sidelined with an abdominal strain, but the Wildcats didn't miss a beat rolling to a three set sweep of the Glarner Knights 25-12, 25-15, 25-9 Tuesday night.
"They were playing without their leader in Natalie," Bloedorn said. "With Belleville, it's just another day. They fill it so much better than the average team. It's hard to find holes. They are such a strong program."
Belleville coach John Pamperin said he was just being cautious with Manion by sitting her out.
"She's too valuable to take a chance and do some damage later so she couldn't play later on," Pamperin said. "We are such a veteran team. With her not out there, we can still play very well."
Belleville (5-1 Capitol South) jumped out to a big lead in the first set. Belleville's Melinda Statz scored four straight service points in the first set including back-to-back aces to give the Wildcats an insurmountable 14-5 lead. New Glarus senior Mara Gartzke, who had three blocks, had a block and junior Maci Watrud had an ace to cut the Wildcats' lead to 15-8, but that's as close as the Knights would get.
"We thought we would do a little better than we did," Gartzke said. "It doesn't always work that way."
Gartzke said the Wildcats' volleyball program starts at a younger age and they have had one coach building a program.
"We have had multiple coaches the last few years," she said. "That's really hard on a developing team."
The Wildcats jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the second game behind some hot serving by Ashley Brusveen. New Glarus senior Alexa Secord delivered an ace and Gartzke scored after tipping a ball at the net to cut the Wildcats' lead to 16-10. However, the Knights (1-5) couldn't mount a comeback.
"We just have to be more consistent with our passing," Bloedorn said. "It's where it starts."
Bloedorn also pointed out the six service errors the Knights had.
"That's giving the other team six points," she said. "That doesn't help you win any ballgames."
New Glarus sophomore Maeci Roesslein and junior Heather Hustad each had three kills to lead the Knights. Lauren Narveson had seven assists and Secord had five digs.
The Wildcats stormed out to a 10-2 lead in the final game. Gartzke scored four consecutive service points to pull the Knights within 10-7.
"New Glarus is scrappy and played well at times," Pamperin said. "Because of our consistent skill and serving, we were able to take them out of their offense."
Bloedorn has seen progress on the court.
"We are getting better every game," Bloedorn said. "It's just getting over that we can win hump."
Manion was sidelined with an abdominal strain, but the Wildcats didn't miss a beat rolling to a three set sweep of the Glarner Knights 25-12, 25-15, 25-9 Tuesday night.
"They were playing without their leader in Natalie," Bloedorn said. "With Belleville, it's just another day. They fill it so much better than the average team. It's hard to find holes. They are such a strong program."
Belleville coach John Pamperin said he was just being cautious with Manion by sitting her out.
"She's too valuable to take a chance and do some damage later so she couldn't play later on," Pamperin said. "We are such a veteran team. With her not out there, we can still play very well."
Belleville (5-1 Capitol South) jumped out to a big lead in the first set. Belleville's Melinda Statz scored four straight service points in the first set including back-to-back aces to give the Wildcats an insurmountable 14-5 lead. New Glarus senior Mara Gartzke, who had three blocks, had a block and junior Maci Watrud had an ace to cut the Wildcats' lead to 15-8, but that's as close as the Knights would get.
"We thought we would do a little better than we did," Gartzke said. "It doesn't always work that way."
Gartzke said the Wildcats' volleyball program starts at a younger age and they have had one coach building a program.
"We have had multiple coaches the last few years," she said. "That's really hard on a developing team."
The Wildcats jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the second game behind some hot serving by Ashley Brusveen. New Glarus senior Alexa Secord delivered an ace and Gartzke scored after tipping a ball at the net to cut the Wildcats' lead to 16-10. However, the Knights (1-5) couldn't mount a comeback.
"We just have to be more consistent with our passing," Bloedorn said. "It's where it starts."
Bloedorn also pointed out the six service errors the Knights had.
"That's giving the other team six points," she said. "That doesn't help you win any ballgames."
New Glarus sophomore Maeci Roesslein and junior Heather Hustad each had three kills to lead the Knights. Lauren Narveson had seven assists and Secord had five digs.
The Wildcats stormed out to a 10-2 lead in the final game. Gartzke scored four consecutive service points to pull the Knights within 10-7.
"New Glarus is scrappy and played well at times," Pamperin said. "Because of our consistent skill and serving, we were able to take them out of their offense."
Bloedorn has seen progress on the court.
"We are getting better every game," Bloedorn said. "It's just getting over that we can win hump."
