BELLEVILLE — When New Glarus and Belleville play against each other in any sport, the atmosphere is intense and fans show up for a highly competitive, rivalry game. The conference volleyball game between the Knights and the Wildcats on Tuesday, Sept. 12 did not disappoint, as New Glarus bested Belleville in five sets.

“There’s a lot of history behind it,” libero Carrah Bainbridge said of the Highway 69 rivalry between New Glarus and Belleville. “We remember the last time we lost to them and the last time we won. So, that’s always in the back of our minds when we go into this. That’s what we try to win for.”

For Bainbridge, Kennedi Esser, Audry Brueggemann and Addison Lutz, the match meant even more as they had soccer teammates Kylie Humke, Cora Funseth and Sam Frey on the other side of the net. Belleville and New Glarus co-op in five sports, including boys and girls soccer, boys and girls track, and wrestling.

“It’s fun to play each other, and it makes it more interesting to look across the net and see people we know,” Brueggemann said. “We still have to be competitive and stay in it so we can pull out a win.”

The first set featured five ties and three lead changes. After a miscommunication on the kill, New Glarus tied the game at one with a kill from Lindsey Schadewalt. The Knights tied the set again at four before taking a brief lead on Emma Hendrickson’s service ace. After two more ties, New Glarus took the lead for good on another Schadewalt kill that ricocheted off Wildcat blockers.

Following a 6-1 rally, the Knights took a 15-9 lead, forcing the first Belleville timeout. In that stretch, Veronica Tollakson faked a set and wound up for a spike kill. Schadewalt recorded another three kills, including a tip.

While the timeout iced Tollakson at the service line, the Knights won seven of the next 10 points for a 22-13 lead.  Belleville head coach John Pamperin called his second timeout hoping to stall New Glarus’ momentum, but two kills from Tollakson and a push deep to the corner from Schadewalt secured the victory, 25-13.

The loss fueled the Wildcats, as they opened the second set with a 7-0 lead. Humke served up two aces and teammate Bree Ranguette smashed two kills. The remaining three points came on unforced Knight errors.

“We talked about playing with poise and confidence. That’s the hard part. Once you start making mistakes and unforced errors, your confidence tanks,” New Glarus head coach Kayla Zimmerman said. “It’s hard to get back up.”

When Belleville took a 9-1 lead with kills from Maddi DeSmet and Ranguette, Zimmerman called her first timeout. The pause proved beneficial, as New Glarus took nine of the next 13 points. An attack error by Ranguette handed the ball over to Bainbridge at the service line, where she tallied two aces. In the stretch, Brueggemann and Tollakson had two kills each.

The Wildcats extended their lead back to 19-12, though, forcing New Glarus’ second timeout. Like déjà vu, the Knights capitalized on the break, winning seven of the next nine points. This time, a Belleville timeout benefited the Wildcats, who won four quick points to take the second set 25-20. The final point came on a block by DeSmet.

After regrouping between sets, New Glarus took an early 5-1 lead in set three. Ella Woodmansee recorded a block, Schadewalt a tip kill and Bainbridge an ace. Later in the set, the Knights extended their lead to 12-5 with a four-point rally. Tollakson faked a set once again, followed by two Woodmansee blocks and a Schadewalt kill.

Unforced Knight errors allowed the Wildcats back into the set, though. Belleville went on a 7-1 run with six points credited to errors. Rather than call a timeout, Zimmerman trusted her players to get out of the jam themselves.

“We know that she has our back and believes in us,” Brueggemann said. “We have to find the confidence in ourselves and build each other up.”

A tip from Payton Schneider was the spark New Glarus needed. With another Schneider kill and service ace from Hendrickson, the Knights took a 19-14 lead. Despite errors here and there, New Glarus finished the set out, 25-18, thanks to an ace from Tollakson.

With a 20-9 lead in set four, New Glarus looked poised to take the victory. Belleville had other intentions, though. Addison Edge’s tip kill sparked an 11-3 Wildcat rally that put the home team within one point at 22-21.

Although Zimmerman called a timeout to recollect, two errors gave Belleville the 23-22 lead. With another Wildcat point, the Knights faced set point and the possibility of a fifth set. When the ball touched the floor on New Glarus’ side on the next play, Belleville appeared to win the set. Knight players argued, though, that the ball touched the antennae. After discussion between the refs, the point was replayed. While the replay benefited New Glarus — Belleville erred on the serve — the Knights gave the set away with two errors.

In a winner-take-all fifth set, the two teams were tied up six times, as late as 10 all. New Glarus took a 13-10 lead with two Wildcat errors and a Tollakson kill. Although Belleville won two points out of a timeout, a block from Woodmansee and kill from Schadewalt sealed the set, 15-12.

Offensively, Schadewalt led the team with 24 kills. She and Brueggemann distributed the offense with 20 assists each. At the service line, Tollakson served up six aces. Defensively, Bainbridge dug out 41 balls and Woodmansee blocked 10 attacks.

In the latest chapter of the Highway 69 rivalry, New Glarus defeated Belleville 3-2. The victory put the Knights (3-1) ahead of the Wildcats (2-1) in the Capitol Conference. Both teams sit behind Marshall (4-0).

“Everybody is clawing for a chance to be at the top,” Zimmerman said. “Any win in conference this year is important. We can’t look past anyone. Every win is a big win.”