Wildcats win twice, move into first-place tie

Blair-Taylor won two matches last week to move into a tie for first place, setting up a crucial week in its bid for a second straight Dairyland Conference title.

B-T defeated Alma/Pepin, 3-1, on Tuesday, then dominated Alma Center Lincoln, 3-0, on Thursday. That put B-T’s DC record at 7-1 on the season, tied with Independence/Gilmanton and Whitehall. 

The Wildcats (20-6 overall) went to Melrose-Mindoro on Tuesday and host Whitehall on Thursday. Two wins would give the Wildcats at least a tie for their second straight DC title. 

Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament play is set to begin next Tuesday, though the brackets had not yet been announced as of press time. 

B-T   25 23 25 25

A/P   18 25 15 17

After losing a close second set, the Wildcats easily won the third and fourth to beat the Eagles.

B-T cruised in the first set, but had a setback with a two-point loss in the second. The team rebounded, winning the third set by 10 points and the fourth by eight. 

Senior Chloe Medenblik finished with 17 kills and three blocks to lead the Wildcats at the net. Charlyse Horton added 10 kills, while Madelyn Elvaker had two kills and two blocks. Emma Wathke had 26 assists.

B-T did a lot of damage from the service line as it had 17 aces. Wathke led the team with six, while Medenblik had five; both Alysa Tubbs and Addison Lejcher had two aces, while Horton and Avery Peterson both had one.

Tubbs had a team-high 19 digs, one more than Wathke, while Lejcher added 13. 

B-T   25 25 25

ACL  12 16 16

The Wildcats dominated the match, winning all three sets by at least nine points.

Medenblik controlled play at the net once again, finishing with 16 kills and four blocks. Kelcie Kindschey and Lejcher both had six kills. Wathke had 33 assists.

Horton had four aces for the Wildcats and Tubbs had a team-high 12 digs, one more than Lejcher.