NEW GLARUS — In the last week of the regular season, and just days before the regional round, the Glarner Knights got a late wakeup call at the hands of Cuba City. The visiting Cubans, which will host New Glarus, Southwestern and Belleville in the regional April 10, beat the Knights in straight sets, 25-19, 25-9, 25-21 on April 6.
“We can take away a lot from this,” New Glarus coach Kayla Zimmerman said. “(Cuba City) is one of the most well put together team’s we’ve come across this year, by far. They’ve got a multiple angle attack.
Despite the sweep, the Knights kept it close for all but a 45-point stretch in the 124-serve night.
“When things got tough, I think we got into our own heads a little bit. I don’t think that we played our game — we let them play and we just played alongside of them,” Zimmerman said.
A 4-0 run by New Glarus in the back half of the opening set tied the score at 17. A miscommunication on defense led to a Cuba City side-out, and the Cubans closed the frame on an 8-2 run. That momentum carried over into the second, with Cuba City taking the first five points. New Glarus would get as close as 9-6, but the Cubans went on a 14-1 run to take full control of the set.
The Knights were a different team in the third period. After scoring just 9 points in 34 serves of the second, New Glarus had 9 of the first 16 points in the third. The biggest lead for the home team came at 15-10 in the third after back-to-back kills from senior Alexah Mellenberger. Cuba City eventually tied it at 16, only for the Knights to regain the lead at 21-19 with a Veronica Tollakson kill.
That’s when the well went dry. Cuba City coach Keri Lawson called a timeout, and the Cubans closed the match on a 6-0 run.
Mellenberger had 16 kills, 2 aces and 12 assists. Grace Nommensen added 11 kills, 6 blocks, an ace and 13 assists. Carrah Bainbridge tallied 25 of the team’s 41 digs on the night. Lindsey Schadewalt had 5 kills, 4 blocks and 5 digs, and Ellie Eichelkraut finished the evening with 6 kills and a block.
Hailey Stich had 9 kills and 2 aces for the Cubans, while Ella McKinley had 17 assists and Camry Nies added 17 sigs.
The Knights had been without their four seniors for multiple games, leaving the underclassmen to hold steady. Sophomore middle blocker Amber Horn missed the Cuba City match, which mean Schadewalt, a freshman, would be on the move again — something her coach said she has become accustomed to this season.
“By this time in the season she’s played every single position on the floor. She’s doing a great job, but it takes time to make all those transitions and know where people are — the people next to you are now different,” Zimmerman said.
For the seniors, Zimmerman said the night was special because it could well be the last chance they get to play in their home gym. An April 8 match was scheduled to be at Wisconsin Heights, and with the regional round set for Cuba City, the Knights would not only have to win the regional, but impress thoroughly in order to host a possible sectional round April 13.
“(The seniors) deserved this, and I wish we could have come away with a win for them,” said Zimmerman, who adjusted her lineup to get let her seniors all see the court in the two games.
With the truncated season possibly ending this weekend already, Zimmerman said she has tried to block out whatever thoughts she can of that moment and focus on the “here and now.”
“I just always feel like, if you don’t end up winning the state tournament, you’ll end up crying. It doesn’t matter what stage of regionals or sectionals you are, unless you win the state tournament, you’ll end with a loss,” Zimmerman said. “That’s always hard. But if they have tears, they have tears, but I’m hoping that if they have tears it’ll also be because they had such a great experience (and) these are memories they are going to want to keep. But I don’t want to focus on that yet.”
Homb, Keegan to officiate state semifinal
Loren Homb and officiating partner Barb Keegan, both of Monroe, will handle matches in the regional round of the spring volleyball playoffs April 10, then the sectional round April 13, and then one step further: A WIAA state semifinal on April 15.
The crew will travel to one of the two state championship sites, Kettle Moraine or Beaver Dam.
Homb is in his fourth decade officiating volleyball and has made six previous appearances as a referee at the state tournament. As an official for multiple sports, it will be his 14th overall state tournament assignment, with three others in basketball, two in cross country and two in track.
For 26 years he worked with Jim Hein, a former Juda teacher who died in 2010. Homb and Keegan have worked together since 2015. This will be Keegan’s first state volleyball assignment.
