By Nick Beversdorf
Reporter
Saturday’s volleyball tournament proved to be an up and down affair for the Hatchets, playing five teams including Menomonie, Catholic Newman, Wausau East, Merrill, and Catholic Central.
The Hatchets fell to Menomonie 17-25 and 23-25, nearly winning the second game. The second match against Newman went worse, with the Hatchets losing 14-25 and 11-25.
“We started off rocky playing against Menomonie and then almost stole the second game from them,” comments head coach Paul Zierten. “After that we had the fun task of playing Newman and one of the best players in the state in Mariah Whalen; we started a little shell shocked even though we prepared to play bigger teams all week. We never really found our groove against them and lost pretty bad.”
For the third match, the Hatchets played Wausau East, winning the first game 25-20 but losing the second game 21-25. With that match split, the Hatchets went on to play Merrill, losing both games 5-25 and 16-25. The Hatchets ended on a high note, beating Catholic Central in the last match 25-20 and 25-15.
“We then played East and did well the first game and faltered in the second game and ended up splitting that match one game apiece. Finally we ended pool play with Merrill and the first game was one of the worst games I’ve been a part of. We looked like we didn’t know what sport we were playing and Merrill was rolling; the second game however we started off great and were tied at 14 before Merrill pulled away. We played Catholic Central in our last game and beat them after playing pretty well.
“Overall we played well at times and looked tough when we played smart but we still need to read the game better so we can get an offense going. I don’t think we’ve played anywhere close to as good as what our potential is and we’ve got to figure out a way to get there. Elena Wallenfang played well this weekend with consistent swings. Delaney Langdon did a phenomenal job digging up the bigger teams’ swings and reading the ball. Courtney Theiler had very good passing and consistently covered the court well. Taylor Shilts continues to improve her setting and managing our side of the net.”