ARGYLE — A season that brought 24 wins, an undefeated conference championship, a No. 1 seed, and a No. 1 ranking came to an end for the Argyle Orioles in the WIAA Division 5 regional championship on Saturday, Oct. 25.
Argyle lost to Southwestern in five sets, 25-12, 22-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-6. The Wildcats came in as a No. 4 seed and finished the regular season in fifth place in the SWAL.
Set one got off to a good start for the Orioles as they turned a 10-9 lead into a 24-11 advantage with Claire Holmes, Brooke Wellnitz, and Kylie Butler getting kills to down the Wildcats 25-12.
The Wildcats grabbed a 10-5 lead in set two and never trailed. Wellnitz and Butler each recorded a kill late in the set to get the Orioles within 24-22, but a service error on the Orioles resulted in a 25-22 Southwestern win and evened the match at 1-1.
Set three went back and forth as the Orioles got a 10-6 lead behind kills by Butler, and Lexi Wonders. But, a block-kill by Alyssa Shelliam of Southwestern tied the set at 12-12. An ace by Southwestern’s Laney Erlich gave the Wildcats a 17-15 lead. Just when the Wildcats started to pull away, Wellnitz got a kill to get Argyle to within 24-20 followed by three return errors on the Wildcats to make it 24-23. But, Butler’s attempted kill sailed out of bounds and Southwestern won 25-23 to go up 2-1.
Argyle stayed alive with a win in set four as Holmes and Brynn Harris scored aces and Butler, Wellnitz, and Brinley Meinert pounded down kills to give the Orioles an 18-12 edge. Butler and Avari Steiner each had a kill to put Argyle in the driver’s seat at 22-17 and Harris finished the set with an ace to win it for Argyle 25-17, forcing a fifth set.
The two teams were tied 4-4 in the fifth set when Southwestern pulled away. The Orioles committed four return errors and Southwestern got six kills, including two block-kills defending on Butler to win 15-6 and win the regional championship 3-2.
Butler had 19 kills and Wellnitz got 18 kills, but the Wildcats neutralized Butler on many of her kill attempts with their front row of 5-10 Karlee Grant, 5-10 Abigail Foley, and 5-7 Laney Erlich. Butler occasionally tried a different strategy by playing off the net and looping the ball over the front row. But, Southwestern’s back row reacted in time to keep the ball in play.
Argyle coach Jen Green said Southwestern had a good plan to defend against Butler but it was an enjoyable season for her to coach the Orioles.
“They were a great team. They came out strong and didn’t let up. It just wasn’t our night. I’m so very proud of the girls. They had a great season. This is one of the best group of girls I’ve ever had to coach,” Green said.
To get the regional final, Argyle rolled over ninth-seeded Benton 25-22, 25-14, 25-12 on Oct. 23.
Argyle ends the season 22-4. Southwestern improved to 15-11 and will travel to Blanchardville to face No. 3 seed Pecatonica in a sectional semifinal on Thursday, Oct. 30.
Vikings win regional championship
BLANCHARDVILLE — The Pecatonica Vikings held off the Monticello Ponies in three sets, 27-25, 25-23, 25-15 in a WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal on Thursday, Oct. 23, then two days later took down Belmont in four sets, 25-14, 25-16, 26-28, 25-14.
Against Monticello, the first set came down to the wire as Loretta Tisch of Pecatonica (No. 3 seed) got a kill to put the Vikings on top 24-23. But Tisch missed on a kill attempt that would’ve won the set for Pecatonica, and tied it at 24-24. After each team had a return error, Chayse Hirsch delivered an ace to win the set for the Vikings 27-25.
In the second set, Hirsch got a key ace to give Pecatonica a 23-21 lead followed by two kills by Aleah Harris to win the set for Pecatonica 25-23.
The third set belonged to the Vikings as Kurschner got a block kill and Tisch followed with consecutive kills to give the Vikings some breathing room at 21-11. Heidi Olson scored on a kill and an ace for Monticello (No. 6 seed) to get the Ponies within 22-13, but a return error by Monticello enabled the Vikings to take set three, 25-15.
Monticello finished the season 4-14.
Pecatonica, now 15-7 overall, advanced to the sectional semi final at home on Thursday, Oct. 30 against No. 4 seed Southwestern.
WIAA Playoffs Roundup
Elsewhere in the WIAA volleyball playoffs, the No. 6 seeded Darlington Redbirds pulled off an upset of No. 3 seed Cuba City in a Division 3 volleyball regional semifinal Thursday, Oct. 23 in five sets, 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 25-27, 17-15.
The Redbirds won a marathon of a match as Lilly Ritchie lead the Redbirds in 4 out of 5 stats. She racked up a triple double with 22 kills, 23 digs, and 27 assists. Ritchie also had three aces. Catie Hartwig and Raynie Norgard also contributed to the win with seven kills a piece.
The Redbirds improved to 19-15 with the win and faced No. 2 seed Marshall on Saturday, Oct. 25 in the regional final. Marshall, the No. 2-seed in the sectional, beat the Redbirds in straight sets 25-17, 25-17, 25-15.
In Division 3, River Valley defeated Belleville in four sets, 25-19, 27-25, 12-25, 25-10 on Thursday, Oct. 23, while three-seed Brodhead swept past Brookfield Academy 25-12, 25-17, 25-19. Brodhead would lose to two-seed Lake Country Lutheran in five sets in the regional final two days later, 25-17, 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 15-11.
Allie Dahl led the Cardinals with 16 kills and 22 digs in the regional final. Gretchen Kammerer had 12 kills plus 31 assists. Leah Rear collected four aces and Addie Leifker added two aces for Brodhead.
Brodhead coach Erin Kammerer praised her team’s determination and will to win.
“The adversity and grit this team showed after losing their starting middle hitter (senior Brynn Reisterer) a knee injury in the second set was amazing. They battled through and just fell short on points. I am immensely proud of their effort and persistence,” said Kammerer.
Brodhead finished the season 29-10 and placed second in the Rock Valley Conference, Rock Division.
