NEW GLARUS - The Glarner Knights play in a tough volleyball league. The Capitol Conference is owner to the defending state champion, Wisconsin Heights, as well as other quality teams, Belleville, Cambridge and Waterloo.
"It's good to have that kind of competition, but it's tough when you don't always see the wins," New Glarus head coach Elizabeth Rasmussen said.
Waterloo defeated Belleville earlier this season, and went toe-to-toe with Wisconsin Heights. On Thursday, Waterloo topped New Glarus in straight sets, 25-9, 25-17, 25-20.
"(Waterloo) beat Belleville, that's a big deal, and they came close against Wisconsin Heights. They are a good team," Rasmussen said.
"After that first game, I tried something. I told the girls to just play to 10. We decided to play five-point games - make it to five, make it to 10. (Our girls) started feeding off of that."
The Knights opened the game more sluggish than they had anticipated. Waterloo took the first nine points, many of which came from New Glarus' inability to return a volley over the net. Rasmussen called a timeout to try to calm her players.
"There were a lot of mistakes. All I said was, 'Hey, OK, that was fun. I'm glad we got that out of our system. Let's just hit the ball over the net for right now,'" she said.
"We wanted these girls to play for somebody who wants to wear that white jersey. Maybe it's their mom, or sister, or some other little girl out there who maybe wants to play someday."
New Glarus continued to struggle throughout the opening set, but looked much sharper once the two teams swapped benches.
"We've been struggling with enthusiasm lately, but we usually play better against good teams. We need to keep that going," Rasmussen said.
The Knights led the second game, 4-3, before Waterloo rang off six straight points to take a 9-4 lead. After a long volley, Tanya Gruter sent a kill to the floor to ease the momentum.
Two points later, Waterloo kicked off another run and had New Glarus down 16-8 and later 23-14.
In the final game, the Knights again started slow. Waterloo jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but New Glarus crept back, and trailed just 11-9 moments later.
Waterloo ran off the next five points and later led 22-13. That's when New Glarus made its final push, taking seven of the next eight points to trail 23-20.
Highlighted in the final run was the effort of Gruter, Jenna Romich and Kelsey Schmidt. Trailing 23-19, Schmidt laid out on the left sideline for a dig, just barely getting her hand under the ball. Romich then bumped the ball from in front of the next backwards to Schmidt, who slapped the ball over the net from her knees. Moments later, Romich laid down a kill for the Knights' final point.
"Kelsey Schmidt is a perfect example of a person who will give it all for her team. In past games, that would be a play we would give up. But not anymore. The girls will see that on video and will see that fight," Rasmussen said. "Hopefully that will help us keep fighting through the season."
Gruter finished the night with eight kills and two aces. Mara Gartzke had three blocks, Alexa Secord piled up eight digs, and Lauren Narveson dished out six assists.
New Glarus heads to the Middleton Invite, Saturday, and will host Cambridge, Tuesday, Sept. 22.
"It's good to have that kind of competition, but it's tough when you don't always see the wins," New Glarus head coach Elizabeth Rasmussen said.
Waterloo defeated Belleville earlier this season, and went toe-to-toe with Wisconsin Heights. On Thursday, Waterloo topped New Glarus in straight sets, 25-9, 25-17, 25-20.
"(Waterloo) beat Belleville, that's a big deal, and they came close against Wisconsin Heights. They are a good team," Rasmussen said.
"After that first game, I tried something. I told the girls to just play to 10. We decided to play five-point games - make it to five, make it to 10. (Our girls) started feeding off of that."
The Knights opened the game more sluggish than they had anticipated. Waterloo took the first nine points, many of which came from New Glarus' inability to return a volley over the net. Rasmussen called a timeout to try to calm her players.
"There were a lot of mistakes. All I said was, 'Hey, OK, that was fun. I'm glad we got that out of our system. Let's just hit the ball over the net for right now,'" she said.
"We wanted these girls to play for somebody who wants to wear that white jersey. Maybe it's their mom, or sister, or some other little girl out there who maybe wants to play someday."
New Glarus continued to struggle throughout the opening set, but looked much sharper once the two teams swapped benches.
"We've been struggling with enthusiasm lately, but we usually play better against good teams. We need to keep that going," Rasmussen said.
The Knights led the second game, 4-3, before Waterloo rang off six straight points to take a 9-4 lead. After a long volley, Tanya Gruter sent a kill to the floor to ease the momentum.
Two points later, Waterloo kicked off another run and had New Glarus down 16-8 and later 23-14.
In the final game, the Knights again started slow. Waterloo jumped out to a 7-1 lead, but New Glarus crept back, and trailed just 11-9 moments later.
Waterloo ran off the next five points and later led 22-13. That's when New Glarus made its final push, taking seven of the next eight points to trail 23-20.
Highlighted in the final run was the effort of Gruter, Jenna Romich and Kelsey Schmidt. Trailing 23-19, Schmidt laid out on the left sideline for a dig, just barely getting her hand under the ball. Romich then bumped the ball from in front of the next backwards to Schmidt, who slapped the ball over the net from her knees. Moments later, Romich laid down a kill for the Knights' final point.
"Kelsey Schmidt is a perfect example of a person who will give it all for her team. In past games, that would be a play we would give up. But not anymore. The girls will see that on video and will see that fight," Rasmussen said. "Hopefully that will help us keep fighting through the season."
Gruter finished the night with eight kills and two aces. Mara Gartzke had three blocks, Alexa Secord piled up eight digs, and Lauren Narveson dished out six assists.
New Glarus heads to the Middleton Invite, Saturday, and will host Cambridge, Tuesday, Sept. 22.
