Tough Week for Wildcat Volleyball
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The Belleville volleyball team had a rough week, losing to Wisconsin Heights and Marshall.
The Wildcats participated in the Iowa-Grant tournament on Saturday; they lost their matchups against Iowa-Grant (12-25, 11-25), Seneca (15-25, 7-25), Portage (12-25, 10-25), and Mineral Point (12-25, 14-25). However, they did win their match against River Valley, 20-25, 25-25, and 15-10.
The team was led by Grace Schulting with 12 kills while Jade Halvensleben had four. Ryley Helwig and Claire Butters had four aces each, and Helwig had 26 digs while Butters had 20. Leading the way in blocks was Lauren O’Connor with four. Alli Kowalski tallied 13 assists, Lucy Grady had one less than Kowalski, and Sam Trainor earned seven.
“For the last tournament of the season at Iowa Grant, we had everyone playing each set, including sophomore Sam Trainor and freshman Jade Halvensleben. Trainor and Halvensleben have been sitting the bench for the varsity matches and filling in wherever/whenever needed,” explained Head Coach Jill Haag. “Due to an injured player, Halvensleben filled in as a middle blocker on Saturday: a new position for her and performed to the best of her ability with very limited practice time. We ended the day with a win and want to thank all the parents for their continued support.”
Last Thursday, Belleville faced off against Wisconsin heights at home where the Wildcats lost 10-25, 18-25, and 8-25.
“Two of the teams in the Capitol South Conference are ranked in the top 10 coaches poll for Division 3. The Wisconsin Heights team’s quick offense and ability to aggressively put the ball down to score challenged us at all levels,” stated Haag.
Mikayla Cann, Grady, and Schulting had two kills while Schulting also had one ace and eight digs. Additionally, Maddie Bartels had an ace. O’Connor tallied two blocks, and Kowalski earned six assists.
Earlier that week, Belleville took a set off Marshall, but Marshall came away with the win, 25-16, 19-25, 23-25, and 14-25.
Helwig earned 14 digs while teammate Schulting had seven digs and eight kills. Cann totaled five kills, and Krista Diaz also had five. Grady amassed three aces and 10 assists, and O’Connor had six blocks.
“We started out with a strong showing in the first set to win 25-16, taking advantage of mistakes the Marshall team was making. In the following sets, we stayed very competitive but could not finish with a victory,” said Haag.
