The Hatchet girls had a long row to hoe before they could harvest a GNC championship, but they’ve never been afraid of a little hard work.
Tomahawk knocked off Northland Pines 3-0 last Tuesday, then dropped three more squads in Saturday’s GNC #2 at home to wrap up a perfect 12-0 record, five matches better than nearest foe Rhinelander (7-5). Antigo, Mosinee and Medford all tied for third at 6-6, and Lakeland was 5-7.
“The girls should be proud of their accomplishment,” THS coach Jen Pfannerstill said. “They worked hard to improve from the beginning of the season until now and learn their positions. We graduated solid players from last years team and needed players to step up in key roles to be successful.
“Our underclassmen did a great job of learning and working hard and our seniors did a nice job of leading and setting the bar high, not letting last years graduation be an excuse for anything less than a Conference Championship. We are very proud of their effort. Their confidence is improving and they understand what they need to do to be successful.”
Tomahawk topped Antigo (25-18, 18-25, 25-14, 26-24), Medford (25-14, 25-13, 25-12), and Mosinee (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17) on Saturday.
“(Antigo was) digging up everything we hit and getting lots of touches,” Pfannerstill said. “We knew that we had to keep hitting the ball and the girls did a nice job knowing that they didn’t need the kill on the first ball, that they needed to be patient. We took control of the (Medford) match early on and were able to control the tempo of the game. We passed much better and that was the difference.
“We passed better and were able to execute our offense from pin to pin (against Mosinee). Players really stepped up in leadership roles and that was good to see. This was an important win for us, given potential regional match-ups.”
THS production came from: Sudbury (12 k, 4 ac, 116 as, 21 d, 7 bl); Anna Nyberg (36 k, 7 ac, 39 d); DuPlayee (15 k, 6 ac, 34 d); Ogstad (27 k, 3 ac, 15 d, 9 bl); Flynn (31 k, 3 d, 7 bl); Hanna Doughty (13 k, 10 as, 5 d, 3 bl); Kelsey Paramore (3 ac, 62 d); Amanda Schneider (5 ac, 26 d).
Pine pitch
The Hatchets helped keep Northland Pines winless in the GNC with a 25-15, 25-13, 25-14 win
“I thought it was a solid effort for the girls,” Pfannerstill said. “They were able to execute their offense off of serve receive and free balls and did a great job of maintaining their intensity.”
Powering the Hatchet attack were: Sudbury (6 k, 23 as, 4 ac, 4 bl); Nyberg (6 k, 12 d); Flynn (7 k, 4 bl); Paramore (4 ac, 7 d); Ogstad (6 k, 2 bl); Schneider (6 ac); DuPlayee (6 k); Emily Garrison (3 d); Maddie Garrison (3 d); Doughty (2 bl).