The Wittenberg-Birnamwood volleyball team entered its Central Wisconsin Conference-East matchup with Iola-Scandinavia on a roll.
After opening conference play with a three-game sweep of Menominee Nation on Sept. 8, the Chargers headed to Waupaca on Sept. 12 and won a five-team invitational after 2-0 victories over Waupaca, Two Rivers, Wisconsin Rapids and Tomahawk.
Iola-Scandinavia put a stop to the Chargers’ momentum by taking three of five sets Sept. 15 on the Thunderbirds’ home court.
The Thunderbirds opened the match with a 25-22 win, but the Chargers answered with 25-19 and 25-20 wins to take a 2-1 advantage into the fourth set. Iola-Scandinavia forced a fifth set with a 25-22 win in the fourth game and overcame a 6-1 deficit in the decisive fifth game before coming back for a 15-13 win.
The match could have gone either way, coach Becky Rew said.
“Give it to Iola; they’re very scrappy, play great defense and have for a couple years,” she said.
No team led by more than five points throughout the match, which lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours.
“We let them back in it without making them work,” Rew said. “That was the difference in the fourth set. The other one was determination and who makes the first error. It really came down to that. That’s what it comes down to, little tiny things that you can’t always control.”
Rew’s message to the team after the match was that the season’s not over. A conference championship, which the team shared last season with Amherst, is still a possibility, she said.
“This is only our second (CWC-East match), and there are a lot of good teams in our conference,” she said. “I told the girls, ‘Hey, the same thing happened to us last year. We lost to Amherst, but somebody beat Amherst and we shared it.’ We can’t hang our heads; we can’t give up. We have to do our part and finish the conference with this one loss. Hopefully, somebody helps us.”
Rew said she’s impressed with her team’s effort so far.
“The girls have worked very hard,” she said. “Our mentality is: We have to win the point. We can’t wait for other teams to make mistakes. We’ve been doing that very well, but tonight, not so much.”
Lily Metropulos is one of five seniors on the roster this season for the Wittenberg-Birnamwood volleyball team. (Greg Seubert)
Charlie Eichman waits for a serve from Iola-Scandinavia in the first set of a Central Wisconsin Conference-East match. (Greg Seubert)
Chloe Jones and the Wittenberg-Birnamwood Chargers dropped a five-set volleyball match to Iola-Scandinavia on Sept. 15. (Greg Seubert)
