Bonduel represented the Central Wisconsin Conference-East at last year’s WIAA girls state volleyball tournament.
Another CWC-East team would like to follow in the Bears’ footsteps.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood is one of eight teams competing for a CWC-East championship this season, along with Amherst, Bonduel, Iola-Scandinavia, Manawa, Menominee Nation, Shiocton and Weyauwega-Fremont.
The Chargers are now 2-0 in conference play after taking all three games from Manawa on Sept. 16 on the Wolves’ home court at Little Wolf High School.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood opened the match with wins of 25-11 and 25-10 before completing the sweep with a 25-21 victory.
The Chargers built an 11-5 lead in the first set before Charlie Eichman served up 12 straight points — including three aces — to help the team take a 23-5 lead.
Brieleigh Ladika used a pair of serving aces to help give the Chargers a 7-0 lead in the second game, and the Wolves never got any closer than six points the rest of the way.
Manawa, however, led for most of the third game and almost forced a fourth set.
The Chargers trailed 7-2 and 9-4 before taking a 16-15 lead midway through the game.
Manawa eventually brought the tally to 22-21, but the Chargers responded by scoring the final three points to seal the game and win the match.
The win came a week after the Chargers dropped the first two sets of their conference opener against Iola-Scandinavia before winning the next three to take the match.
Those are the wins that can set the tone for an entire season, according to coach Becky Rew.
“Anytime you win in five (games), it’s always big — especially if you come back from two down,” she said. “Iola was a very scrappy team. I like a tight match early in the season. It reminds the girls that we can’t take things for granted, and we have to work hard for every point.”
The Chargers finished fourth in the CWC-East last year behind Amherst, Bonduel and Weyauwega-Fremont.
“Every (conference match) is big,” Rew said. “You can’t have a bad night or let up a little bit. Every single one is crucial.”
Rew is relying on the leadership of the Chargers’ three captains – Ladika, Lily Metropulos and Melaina Granquist.
“Honestly, we have a lot of girls returning,” she said. “The only one that’s new this season is Chloe (Jones).
“Otherwise, everyone played last year and had a key part. Melaina does a great job blocking and hitting in the front row, but if people are looking at her, we go to Charlie. Lily does a good job setting it up to Laylah (Horne), and so does Kaitlin (Tuskowski). Our setters do a great job of moving it around to everyone in the front row.”
Rew would like to see her team compete for a conference championship this season.
“You always have your Amhersts and Bonduels,” she said. “Amherst had a great season and won the conference, and Bonduel came on at the end and made it to state. I know they both lost players, but we’ll see who steps up and replaces them. That’s always the key to a successful program, to have a person fill that spot.”
