The top-seeded Hatchet volleyball girls cruised to a regional title with a pair of three-set home sweeps after an opening bye earned with that #1 seed.
Tomahawk dropped Antigo on Thursday after allowing the Red Robins barely more than a game’s worth of points in three.
They backed it up on Saturday by dropping Wittenberg 25-21, 25-13, 25-12.
“The girls came out focused and ready to play,” THS coach Amanda Charles said. “You could tell that they were on a mission to earn the regional championship. It has been one of our goals and stepping stones for this season. I’m very proud of the effort by the girls.
“Game one we started off strong, going on a four-point run right away. Wittenberg knotted it up at 8-8 and then we were able to chip away points. When we got to 16-10, they went on a run and scored 9 unanswered points. I had to take both of my time-outs in that span to reassure them that they could do it. Our serve-receive passing wasn’t very good during that stretch and we were scrambling too much and needed to be patient to side-out.
“I was happy to see that they were able to come back from that deficit and win the set. In the next two sets, we played very consistent volleyball. I think we are peaking at the right time. Wittenberg had some really hard hitters, but I have to give credit to Alex DuPlayee and Maddie Garrison, they were all over the floor picking up those hard-hit balls.”
Contributions came from: Anna Nyberg (15 kills, 10 digs); Becca Doughty (36 assists, 2 blocks); Alex DuPlayee (4 k, 5 aces, 17 d); Hanna Meyer (5 k, 3 ac, 4 d); Emily Schneider (5 k, 2 ac, 5 d); Hanna Doughty (7 k, 2 bl); Amanda Schneider (3 ac, 4 d); and Garrison (4 d).
Bobbing Red Robins
The Hatchets made short work of Antigo, limiting the Red Robins to just seven, 12 and 10 points while ripping off 25 themselves.
“The girls started off the match strong and were excited to play in front of their home crowd,” Charles said. “Antigo couldn’t handle our serving very well and had a hard time setting up their offense. When they were able to set it up, we were there with a big block or dug it up on defense.
“The second game was a little bit of a let down. I think the girls started to play down to their level at times and (Antigo) hung with us until Hanna Meyer was able to rattle off a few serves in a row that helped us pull away.
“The third game began with us starting very strong behind tough serving from senior Alex DuPlayee. Antigo was on their heels most of the night because of our aggressive play.”
Donations were turned in by: Nyberg (8 k, 2 bl, 11 d); B. Doughty (3 bl, 17 as); A. Schneider (6 ac, 7 d); DuPlayee (3 k, 4 ac, 5 d); H. Doughty (4 k, 5 bl); H Meyer (3 k, 4 d); E. Schneider (2 ac, 5 bl); and Megan Lee (5 as).
Tomahawk will face Altoona in Antigo on Thursday, with the winner heading to Saturday’s sectional final at Mosinee.