BURLINGTON — After finishing the season unbeaten in the Six Rivers East, Black Hawk grabbed a No. 3 seed in the WIAA Division 4 volleyball tournament and promptly took care of business against Albany Oct. 16. In the second round two days later, the Warriors defeated Monticello in straight sets, but in the regional final Oct. 20, Black Hawk fell to Burlington Catholic Central in four sets, 13-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-18.
Hannah Butler had 22 kills and three blocks and Bailey Butler had 12 kills for the Warriors, which had just one ace in the match — Savannah Burmeister in the opening set. Burmeister added 15 assists in the match and Kristen Knapp had three blocks.
Catholic Central is one of the premier volleyball teams in the state, with five state titles in six appearances since 2006. BCC also lost in the sectional finals five other times in the last 13 years, meaning as a team BCC has advanced out of the regionals 11 of past 13 years. The problem for Black Hawk is that BCC has been in the same sectional all those years.
From 2007 to 2015, BCC bumped the Warriors from the postseason five times, making the Oct. 20 loss the sixth time in 12 years.
In the regional semifinal win over Monticello (25-17, 25-22, 25-13), Hannah Butler had 19 kills and four aces and Bailey Butler had 10 kills and five aces. As a team, Black Hawk had 13 aces. Burmeister finished with a team-high 18 assists and Sydney Delzer had a pair of blocks.
Monticello’s Lindsey Pence had 16 assists, Mackie Errthum and Maggie Bak each had five kills, Abby Wicker finished with three blocks and Hannah Zanow and Alyssen Noriega each collected 11 digs.
D4: Argyle falls in regional final
RANDOLPH — The Argyle Orioles opened the year with high hopes for another conference title and a trip to sectionals. Neither happened, however, as the Orioles lost the conference race to Black Hawk and then fell in the regional final to top-seeded Randolph Oct. 20, 25-17, 25-12, 25-16.
Senior Jena Saalsaa had seven kills and two blocks and fellow senior Jayden Saalsaa finished with 10 digs and two aces for Argyle. Maggie Godfrey had five kills and Kirsten Ostby added 15 assists for the Orioles.
Randolph moves onto the sectional semifinal to face second-seeded Burlington Catholic Central.
In the regional semifinal Oct. 18, Argyle defeated Fall River in a tight five-set match, 25-22, 16-25, 24-26, 25-20, 15-9.
Jena Saalsaa had 23 kills and five aces while Jayden Saalsaa ended the night with 28 sigs. Ostby was all over the floor with 22 digs, four aces and 48 assists. Godfrey finished with 18 kills and a block.
D3: Darlington out in second round
BELLEVILLE — The Redbirds run in the playoffs ended in the regional semifinal with a close 5-set loss to Belleville Oct. 18, 25-21, 25-17, 25-27, 20-25, 15-11.
Roxie Reuter had 14 kills and 15 assists to lead Darlington. Teammate Katie Leahy had 13 assists, an ace and eight kills. Casey Glendenning and Kathleen Mathias each had three blocks and Brenna McDonald finished with a pair of aces.
Belleville was led by Rach Heittola’s 14 kills and two blocks. Ava Foley finished with 11 kills and eight digs, while Sydney Gentilli accumulated 23 digs and an ace. Also finishing with big nights for the Wildcats were Brooke Everson (two blocks), Jade Holvensleben (one ace) and Erin Kittleson (31 assists).
Belleville would lose in the regional final in five sets to second-seeded Cuba City, which now takes on Wisconsin Heights in the sectional semifinal.
D3: Heartbreak for Brodhead in reg. final
MAZOMANIE — The Cardinals nearly pulled off their first regional title in years but instead fell to top-seeded Wisconsin Heights in the regional final Oct. 20, 25-18, 16-25, 25-18, 21-25, 23-21.
Brodhead was hoping their unique mix of experience and youth with talent at all six positions would lead to the school’s first trip to the state games in Green Bay since 2008. Instead the final set — the first team to 15 and win by 2 points — went an extra 10 points deep, adding to the intensity of the situation.
In order to reach the regional final, the Cardinals took care of business by upsetting fourth-seeded Williams Bay on the road in another thriller Oct. 18, 28-26, 25-18, 19-25, 27-29, 15-12.
Senior Abbey Johnson finished that match with eight aces, 16 kills, 9 digs and 33 assists. Fellow senior Alexis Oliver had three aces, 13 kills and two blocks and junior Katie Goecks had 12 kills, a block and an ace.
The youth on the team also excelled in the regional semifinal victory, with freshman Madisyn Kail recording an ace and 17 assists, freshman Kiarra Moe had a pair of aces and sophomore Sabrina Siegel finished with an ace and eight kills. As a team, Brodhead served 91.2 percent in the match and had 16 aces.
