GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Falcons fourth in conference tournament

By Jason Arndt
Editor

Unlike the last girls volleyball meeting between Westosha Central High School and Burlington, the Falcons could not maintain their momentum against the Demons in last weekend’s Southern Lakes Conference tournament at Elkhorn, where Westosha Central finished fourth among eight schools.

The Falcons, who defeated county rival Wilmot in straight sets to open the tournament, moved to the semifinals against Burlington.

In regular season play, the Falcons swept the Demons, who served as hosts.

After the Falcons won the first set, 25-21, Burlington bounced back to win the next two sets, 25-12, 15-7.

According to Falcons’ coach Megan Awe, who credited her team’s aggressiveness at the start of the tournament, Burlington made quick adjustments to come away with the win.

“In set two, Burlington definitely upped themselves and played more aggressively and kept going,” Awe said. “They wanted it, we were just playing through the motions.”

Westosha Central, which moved to the third place match, lost to the Broncos in three sets, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9.

Laura Shoopman, who led the front row with 20 kills, contributed defensively with 29 digs and added four aces.

Sierra Lee pitched in another 18 kills and added 33 digs along with six aces. Ella Kaebisch pitched in 16 kills and two blocks.

Kaitlyn Ellis, meanwhile, added four kills and four blocks.

Defensively, the Falcons received 46 digs from Twila Dovas while McKenna Hall had another 26.

For Wilmot, the Lady Panthers took eighth place, but took their next two opponents to three sets.

“Wilmot was shut down at the end of the season conference tournament,” said Panthers coach Kevin Raap.

After the loss to Westosha Central, the Panthers dropped matches to Elkhorn, 25-22, 16-25, 15-11.

Delavan-Darien then edged Wilmot, 25-23, 13-25, 15-11 to finish seventh.

Leading the Panthers offense were Sam Serak with 16 kills along with Karina Leber and Stephanie Ollinger, both of whom at 12.

Becca Bell, who contributed 41 assists, added four blocks while Ashley Lesko pitched in another 3 1/2 blocks.

Sara Bedessem dove in for 24 digs and added seven aces.

Rivals to meet again
Before the conference tournament, the Falcons received a No. 3 seed in the WIAA Division 1 state tournament, where they opened with a regional match against No. 14 Wilmot on Thursday.

SLC Tournament
First Round
Westosha Central def Wilmot, 25-19, 25-14.

Consolation Semifinals
Elkhorn def Wilmot, 25-22, 16-25, 15-11

Third Place Match
Union Grove def Westosha Central, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9

Seventh Place Match
Delavan-Darien def Wilmot, 25-23, 13-25, 15-11.


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