PECATONICA — No. 12 Shullsburg (8-15, 4-8 Six Rivers West) upset No. 5 Pecatonica (9-10, 8-4 Six Rivers East) 26-24, 25-21, 19-25, 25-20 in a match featuring wild swings of momentum on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
The Miners rallied from big deficits to take the first two sets.
Pecatonica led 14-8 in set one until a 14-5 run gave Shullsburg a 22-19 lead. Pecatonica regained the lead at 23-22, but Shullsburg scored four of last five points to earn a 26-24 win.
In set two, the Vikings jumped ahead 8-0 behind a seven-point service run by Anna Tisch. Once again, the Miners dug down and rallied to grab a 17-16 lead. The teams swapped the lead four more times until a spike kill and block kill by Taylor Russell sparked a 5-0 run for Shullsburg that secured a 25-21 win.
Pecatonica rallied in the third set with Tisch at the service line. Down 11-17 with the season on the line, the Vikings got a side out from a missed serve. Tisch then stepped up to the line and served up 11 straight with an ace and three kills apiece from Chloe Schraepfer and Diana Hendrickson. A kill by Loretta Tisch sealed the 25-19 win for the Vikings.
Set four remained tight throughout until a late four-point service run by Evvie Ennis got the Miners to match point at 24-16. Pecatonica got as close as 24-20 before Camden Russell seal the Miners win with a kill.
Shullsburg was led offensively by Taylor Russell and Camden Russell, who had 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Taylor Russell also recorded three blocks. Elsie Ennis contributed with three aces and a team-leading 28 digs. Olivia Brown also served up three aces. Stella Spillane and Evvie Ennis distributed the offense with 20 and 12 assists, respectively. Emily Wiegel collected 21 digs.
Pecatonica got nine kills apiece from Loretta Tisch and Schraepfer. Sienna Runde and Hendrickson also contributed to the offense with seven kills each.
Although the Vikings finished just below .500 overall, they had a winning record in conference. In fact, they improved three games from last years’ record of 5-7. Next season, they look to continue this upward trend.
WHITEWATER 3, MONROE 0
WHITEWATER —Monroe’s (2-21, 0-7) second season under head coach Cassie Wittmann came to an end on Tuesday, Oct. 18 after a 0-3 loss to Whitewater (19-7, 8-1 Rock Valley).
In her first season, Wittmann compiled a 1-29 overall record. This season, the team picked up another win. As Wittmann mentioned in postgame interviews this season, the team’s willingness to try new things and improve led to greater success.
The Cheesemakers say goodbye to six seniors and will look toward the remaining underclassmen to continue the upward trend.
MONTICELLO 3, CHESTERTON ACADEMY 0
MONTICELLO — The Ponies (23-1, 12-0 Six Rivers East) let up just 18 points in its regional quarterfinal win over Chesterton Academy of Milwaukee (2-6) on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
After a 25-9 win in set one, Macey Grant never left the service line in set two. She served 25 straight points, aided by her teammates. In the 25-9 set-three win, Grant served up the last 15 points.
With the win, Monticello advances to the regional semifinal. The team will host Six Rivers East opponent Albany (4-13, 3-8). During the regular season, Monticello won both match ups 3-0.
ALBANY 3, FAITH CHRISTIAN 1
WILLIAMS BAY — In an 8/9 match up, the Albany Comets (4-13, 2-8 Six Rivers) edged Lake City champions Faith Christian (19-9, 15-1).
The Eagles took the first set, contested, 25-23. The Comets rebounded to win the next three sets 25-17, 25-15, 25-15 and the game.
Anna Ellinger contributed to the victory with nine kills, three blocks and five aces. Myah Johnson also had five aces with a team-leading 14 assists. Alana Durtschi led in kills with 16, while Avery Briggs amassed 10 aces. Ellie Modaff recorded 11 assists.
Albany faces conference rival Monticello (23-1, 12-0) in the regional semifinal on Thursday, Oct. 20.
DARLINGTON 3, WISCONSIN HEIGHTS 0
DARLINGTON — The Redbirds (13-7, 8-4 SWAL) cruised to a three-set sweep of the Vanguards (5-14, 4-6 Capitol South) in the WIAA regional quarterfinal on Tuesday, Oct. 18.
The victory extends Darlington’s winning streak to four games headed into the regional semifinal on Thursday, Oct. 20.
The Redbirds face off against No. 3 River Ridge (23-0, 12-0 Six Rivers West), which hasn’t lost an entire game all season. In fact, the team has lost just eight sets in its 2022 campaign. With a win, Darlington would most likely see SWAL champion Mineral Point (16-6, 11-1) in the regional final.
BENTON 3, BLACK HAWK 2
SOUTH WAYNE — Black Hawk’s (7-12, 7-5 Six Rivers East) season came to an end after a five-set thriller against Benton (13-10, 6-6 Six Rivers West) on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Two of the five sets were decided by the minimum two-point margin.
Down 13-19, Benton came back to win the first set 25-23. Despite scoring 25 points in the second set, the Zephyrs fell 25-27 to the Warriors. To go up two sets to one, Benton took set three 25-20.
With the game on the line, Black Hawk rebounded in set four to win 25-21, sending it to a fifth set. The fourth-set momentum did not carry over, though, as Benton cruised to a 15-5 win to take the game.
In her first year back as head coach, Rachel Wolff led the Warriors to three more conference wins than last season. Black Hawk finished fourth in the Six Rivers East conference, a one-spot jump from last season.
SOUTHWESTERN 3, ARGYLE 0
HAZEL GREEN — In its regional quarterfinal match up with Southwestern (18-8, 8-4 SWAL), Argyle (1-17, 1-10 Six Rivers East) fell three sets to none. With the result, Argyle’s season came to an end.
The Orioles faced many setbacks this year, as they had few returning varsity players and entered a new era under first-year head coach Devra Leverington. Argyle managed one win this season, though, notably a conference sweep of Juda.
Next season, the returning players will have more experience and chemistry on the court propelling them forward.
FALL RIVER 3, JUDA 0
FALL RIVER — The Juda Panthers (2-16, 1-11 Six Rivers East) challenged No. 4 Fall River (21-13, 5-2 Trailways West) but fell short 12-25, 20-25 and 17-25.
Ciarrah Davis dug out 10 balls to lead the Panthers. At the service line, Briliey Swedlund and Lavina Rufer recorded four aces. The pair also knocked down four kills. Jackie Nusbaum, Rianna Sullivan and Rufer stepped up on defense with two blocks each. Nusbaum also distributed the defense with 10 assists.
In her first year back as head coach, Pam Green kept pace with last year’s team. In 2021, Juda also had two overall and one conference win. The Panthers graduate two seniors, so their rotation will remain nearly the same. The extra experience should help the team moving forward.
— Thomas Gunnell of the Republican Journal contributed to this report.
