BLANCHARDVILLE — Pecatonica earned a spot in a WIAA Division 5 regional final with a thrilling four-set win over Argyle in a regional semifinal on Thursday, Oct. 24 — 25-16, 20-25, 25-15, 26-24. Just a week prior, the Orioles had downed the Vikings in five sets, creating a three-way tie for second place in the Six Rivers East.
“We really focused this week — having the bye on Tuesday — for a defense against Kylie Butler and Brooke Wellnitz. They are really aggressive at the net. We really studied that this week, and I think that made a big difference.”
The first set had four ties, the latest at 12-12. Brooke Wellnitz and Tatum Kurschner battled at the net on a Viking overpass, and on her second attack of the volley, Wellnitz pushed the ball to an open spot on the floor.
“I try to do it for my senior (Mya), who it could be her last game and it was,” Wellnitz said of her go-getter energy. “I do it for the team and so I can go home and be proud of myself and not hang my head.”
But Kylie Butler went back to the line, where she served a ball too deep, leading to a 13-4 run for Pecatonica. The Vikings closed the game on a five-point rally, ending in an ace for Mikaela Gross — her fourth of six on the night.
The two teams battled to a 5-5 tie in the second game, before Butler’s tip kill gave Argyle an edge. The Orioles played smart down the stretch, building up their lead. Butler pushed a ball right into the Viking block, but Mya McNett stood on the sideline and watched the ball fall out of bounds. Out of a Pecatonica timeout, Argyle doubled up the score, 16-8, as yet another Viking block fell just out.
Although Pecatonica got back within three, 16-13, with a five-point rally, the Orioles outscored the Vikings 2-1 down the stretch for the victory. The set point was a service error by Aleah Harris.
Poor passing in the third set got Argyle in a 7-2 hole. Loretta Tisch and Gross took advantage of overpasses on serve receives for back-to-back kills. The errors led to an Argyle timeout, but even after talking about how to move to the ball, another Oriole service receive was too tight to the net, resulting in a point for Pecatonica.
“We just needed to move our feet, get our butts down and make a proper pass so we could get a set and get a side out,” Argyle head coach Jen Green said.
The Vikings extended their lead to 10 points, 21-11, on yet another overpass kill — this time for Harris. Pecatonica carried that momentum through an Argyle timeout. Gross kept a rally alive — going to her knees for a dig — and watched Butler’s attack sail deep. Tisch exuded the same hustle effort, laying out for a pancake, getting up and spiking the set for a kill.
“It’s just wanting it for my team and pushing through tough games like these,” Tisch said of the effort.
Pecatonica closed out the set with Lila Schlimgen at the line. Her serve tipped the net and fell in front of the back row for an ace — her second of four on the night.
The Vikings carried that momentum to the fourth game, where they jumped out to a 7-2 lead. After sending two free balls back and forth, Harris and Schlimgen blocked Butler, forcing an Argyle timeout.
The Orioles rallied from behind to tie the set at 11, 17, 18 and 19. Wellnitz gave her team the 20-19 lead with a push, ending a volley that went back and forth seven times. She then extended the advantage with a kill in the back corner.
Argyle reached set point on Pecatonica errors but was unable to put it away. With her sixth ace of the night, Diana Hendrickson tied the game at 24. The Vikings then got a call they had been wanting all night, as Wellnitz was called for a carry. Then, on match point for Pecatonica, Tisch went up for a swing but did a soft drop-shot for the game-winning kill.
“Since I was hitting hard the whole game that they would expect a big hit, so I thought the donut would be wide-open,” Tisch said.
Although Pecatonica won on its home court, the Vikings were swept on the road in a WIAA Division 5 regional final against 2-seed Belmont on Oct. 26 — 25-17, 25-13, 25-21.
