The MHS volleyball team swept Wausau West last Tuesday??, then got a perfect chance to work on its depth in Saturday’s Medford Invite.
The girls proved their balance by winning the tourney despite the absence of three senior starters.
“It was a good opportunity for other kids to see some playing time,” Merrill coach Kris Albrecht said. “Really it was a day of underclassmen having to step up. Rylee (Folz) had a pretty good day, back playing in the middle position.
“Morgan Marnholtz did a great job in the back row. She was almost spot on with her passes. She and Ali Zamzow are really starting to take over our defense.”
A couple of seniors needed to expand their roles to get the job done.
“Lauren (Hojan) is such a valuable player,” Albrecht said. “She can step into almost any role on the team. She can set and hit any side of the court. (Setter) Reegan (Byer) was doing some hitting, too, because we were down three big hitters Her volleyball intelligence and strong serving were a real asset to our team. She played all six rotations.”
Renee Sladek (tweaked calf), Aubrey Wardall (funeral) and Katie Zuelsdorff (illness) missed all or most of the competition.
Merrill pulled off four sweeps and lost to Ashland. But the Oredockers also dropped a match and lost more games anyway, the determining factor in the meet.
The Bluejays topped Owen/Withee (25-20, 25-14), Weyauwega/Freemont (28-26, 25-20), Bloomer (25-18, 25-15) and Medford (25-16, 25-12). The 25-20, 18-25, 15-12 Oredocker loss came in the middle of the schedule.
Offerings were turned in by: Byer (20 k, 13 ac, 2 bl, 62 as, 42 d); Hojan (47 k, 2 bl, 3 as, 9 d); Emily Page (7 k, 9 ac, 34 as, 21 d); Folz (28 k, 4 ac, 5 bl, 7 d); Morgan Marnholtz (40 d); Ali Zamzow (3 ac, 37 d); Anna Finnell (20 k, 3 d); Mariah Turenne (4 k, 3 bl, 6 as, 12 d); Cheyenne Pyka (2 ac, 15 d); Zuelsdorff (4 k, 7 d); Hannah Marrier (4 k).
Tap out
Merrill closed out West with 25-6, 25-16 and 25-22 games.
“We handled them pretty easily the first game,” Albrecht said. “Renee was hitting the ball hard. We were serving aggressively and managing to move around more on defense. It was nice to beat a team in three games.”
Producing for the Jays were: Sladek (13 k, 4 bl, 9 d); Byer (4 ac, 15 as, 7 d); Marnholtz (17 d); Hojan (5 k, 2 bl); Katie Zuelsdorff (8 d); Page (7 as); Zamzow (5 d); Finnell (4 k); Wardall (3 bl); Folz (3 k); Turenne (3 k).