BELLEVILLE — Having defeated Belleville (3-17, 2-8 Capitol South) at home earlier in the season, New Glarus (14-7, 7-2) came into its match on Tuesday, Oct. 11 confident.
Although the Wildcats put up a fight, the Glarner Knights took all three sets 25-16, 25-11 and 25-19.
“When we play a scrappy team like Belleville, we just have to play smart,” New Glarus head coach Kayla Zimmerman said. “Sometimes when we are in matches where we’ve beaten them [opponents] before, we’re feeling a little confident. We are a little too loose and make mistakes. We don’t handle the ball the way we should.”
New Glarus took an early 9-3 lead in the first set thanks to a five-point rally. Three of the five points came on Belleville attack errors, while Jordyn Runde and Grace Nommensen knocked down the other two.
Payton Schneider led the next rally, as she served up three consecutive aces. Belleville attempted to stall New Glarus’ momentum with a timeout, but the Knights still scored the next two points. Amber Horn and Veronica Tollakson combined for a double block, and Lindsey Schadewalt recorded a kill.
The Wildcats’ second timeout proved to be more effective, as they came out of it to score four straight points. The rally began with a Knight service error and ended with an ace from Kailey Prochaska.
Runde ended the rally with a kill, and New Glarus took the next two points for the first set.
The Knights got out to an early lead once again in set two. Tollakson served up two aces for a 4-1 lead, and Morgan Kleeman extended the lead to 10-4 with a kill.
Belleville’s timeout did little slow New Glarus, as the Knights put together four rallies to take the second set. Schadewalt contributed to the last rally with a kill and double block with Horn.
The third set proved to be the most competitive, as the two teams were tied six times as late as 11-11.
After tying the game at three, New Glarus took a 5-3 lead with kills from Tollakson and Horn. Belleville responded with a kill from Mikayla Caskey and solo block from Prochaska.
It was then the Knights’ turn, as they scored five of the next six points. Three players recorded kills, while Horn’s serve found the floor.
The Wildcats went on a five-point run to tie the game once again and regain the lead. In addition to Caskey and Prochaska, Lindsay Kittleson also got in on the scoring. The remaining two points were on New Glarus errors.
The Knights took the lead for good after two Wildcat errors and a kill from Nommensen. Down the stretch, New Glarus won two points to every one of Belleville’s. The Wildcats’ two timeouts only delayed the inevitable, as the Knights secured the set and game on a kill from Nommensen.
For New Glarus, Nommensen reached double digits and three statistical categories: kills (11), assists (13) and digs (12). Schadewalt and Schneider also contributed significantly with 16 assists and 12 digs, respectively.
A majority of Zimmerman’s players saw the court.
“It’s important,” Zimmerman said of the shared playing time. “We don’t always get to do that, so when we get the opportunity, it’s good for the culture and team.”
Seniors Caskey and Prochaska carried Belleville. Caskey recorded one kill and nine digs, while Prochaska served up four aces and blocked three attacks. Addison Edge led in assists (11) and digs (11), and Madalyn DeSmet added nine digs.
The Knights finish their conference campaign with a game against Wisconsin Heights (4-12, 4-5) on Thursday, Oct. 13. Their playoff journey begins with a home game on Tuesday, Oct. 18 against Boscobel (6-13, 2-8 SWAL).
“We are excited,” Zimmerman said of the opportunity. “It’s good to have the ability to be at home at least the first game. Hopefully, if we win, we get to be at home for the second match, too.”
