Tigerton volleyball team falls after battle with Rosholt

Tigers pleased with play despite loss
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

The Tigerton High School volleyball team came away from a 25-17, 24-26, 25-14, 25-23 setback to Central Wisconsin Conference crossover foe Rosholt on Sept. 8 in Tigerton with plenty of positive things to build from.

Skyler Hauser, one of Tigerton’s senior leaders, had only encouraging things to say about the team seconds after the match ended.

“A lot of games, we don’t have too much momentum, and this time we actually talked a whole lot and playing a team that’s harder to play than our conference teams. This means actually a lot,” said Hauser, who led the team with 10 attack kills, 12 digs, six service points and two blocks.

“Our team did phenomenal talking to each other,” Hauser continued. “It was mainly communication and all the hype that we contributed together.”

Fellow senior Abby Swartz echoed more positive thoughts.

“I did not hear one negative thing in that locker room. Everybody is just smiling. We’re cheering; we’re happy,” said Swartz, who recorded 10 digs, 10 service points, six attack kills, two aces and a block.

She added the team didn’t have the “highest of hopes” going into the match and morale was a bit low, but she believed the play in the match should give the team more positivity in the matches to come.

Rosholt had an early advantage in the first set and then used a 5-0 run to take control. The visitors eventually led by as many as nine.

Instead of letting Rosholt coast to the set win, Tigerton coach Holly Meverden called timeout with the visitors a point away from taking the set. Although the Tigers were only able to win two points before the Hornets finished off the set, it seemed to jumpstart Tigerton’s momentum.

After a slow start to set two, Tigerton rattled off four straight points as Swartz served. The rest of the set was about as tight as one could be, with neither team leading by more than three.

Rosholt looked poised to take the set after going up 24-22, only to have Tigerton win the next four points to steal it. The Tigers earned three straight points on well-placed tips before Hauser delivered a thunderous kill to finish off the set.

“It’s really hard for sports teams to keep their heads up after a quick game the first set. Coming into the second set with our heads up instead of our heads down really made an impact on our play,” said Hauser. “I’m really proud of all of our girls who worked together — it takes teamwork to play this game, and I think our girls did amazing tonight.”

The Tigers got off to a better start in set three, only to have the Hornets recapture the momentum with a 12-2 run. Tigerton responded with a 4-0 run as Jade Selle served to get back into the set.

Tigerton got as close as three, 17-14, before getting outscored 8-0 the rest of the set.

“Talking and being more consistent with our serve receive,” said Swartz, on areas in which the team can improve. “I think that’s the No. 1 thing we work on is always the serve receive because it’s hard to adjust to servers.”

“Getting that pass to the setter, whether you’re receiving from a serve or receiving from a hit” is also something Swartz believes the team can always get better with.

Rosholt worked out to a quick five-point advantage in set four and eventually forced a Tigerton timeout after going ahead 14-7.

Tigerton continued to battle, but they couldn’t seem to chip away at the deficit. Rosholt was leading 20-13 and looked to be in complete control before Tigerton made a valiant comeback effort.

The hosts put the pressure back on Rosholt, and the Tigers soon had tied it after a 6-0 run as Swartz served.

The teams traded three 2-0 runs to end it, with Rosholt pulling back ahead 23-21 before Tigerton tied it. The Hornets finally ended the set after a kill and Tigerton attack landed out of bounds.

“I think this really sets a high standard for our girls, and I think getting this far against this team means that we are going to go way farther in our conference games,” said Hauser. “I think we can do a lot this year.”

Samantha Suehring finished the match with nine digs and eight service points for Tigerton, while McKenzie Hoffman led the team with 10 assists.

Selle contributed eight service points, four attack kills and a block for the Tigers.

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