Raiders overcome slow start to beat G-E-T in Coulee volleyball
Arcadia senior Samantha Berg tapped the ball past a pair of G-E-T defenders at the net during the first set of last Tuesday’s Coulee Conference volleyball win for the Raiders at home. (Times photograph by Benjamin Pierce)
Junior Caroline Mack kept her eyes on the ball as she went for a dig in the third set of last Tuesday’s match at Arcadia High School. (Times photograph by Benjamin Pierce)
It was a little bit of tough love from Arcadia volleyball coach Andrea Izdepski that helped the Raiders turn around last week’s conference contest with G-E-T.
Izdepski and Arcadia went down 5-2 in the opening set but battled back to win 25-16. In set two, G-E-T again secured an early lead, going ahead 14-9.
That’s when Izdepski called a timeout to tell her team they needed a more precise effort. Her team responded, edging a 25-23 win in the set before earning a sweep with a 25-15 win in set three.
“I think we struggled with really honing in our focus and being able to put the whole game together. So, in that timeout, that’s exactly what I said is we need to refocus, we need to focus on making that good pass so then we can focus on making a good set and then focus on getting a good attack,” Izdepski said. “Again, we were just kind of chippy on different things and it wasn’t a good flow. And in that moment, we were able to finally just snap together and turn it around and pull off that second set.”
Both Arcadia and G-E-T start the postseason this week — the 11th-seeded Raiders visit sixth-seeded River Valley this Tuesday for their regional matchup while G-E-T, seeded 13th, will visit fourth-seeded Wisconsin Dells.
The Red Hawks were firing on all cylinders from the first whistle against Arcadia but were unable to hold on to win either of the first two sets. To be competitive before the playoffs, though, is a good sign, according to coach Jess Weiler.
“We had the energy on our side. The girls came to play tonight which is always a great thing, and they were finding some gaps and reading what Arcadia was doing while looking for those open areas and kind of capitalizing. But then we got in the way of ourselves,” Weiler said.
Weiler told her team after the match that Tuesday was proof that they can stay with the top opponents before playoffs hit.
Cadence Simmons led G-E-T (8-22, 3-8 Coulee) with four aces, while Alexis Schroeder (six) and Tatum Johnson (five) paced the Red Hawks in kills.
“We can compete with anybody any night as long as we bring that energy and intensity and our passing has been phenomenal in the back row. Tonight was a sweep but every set was close so we have some good momentum.”
Izdepski also said that Tuesday’s rivalry match will help her team heading into their own playoff match.
The Raiders got help from multiple players on Tuesday, as Casidi Pehler brought seven kills and five blocks while Adella Anderson finished with 17 assists. Tatum Drazkowski (seven blocks) was busy at the net, too.
“We went off of a little bit of a losing streak after we played some great competition two weeks ago and then last week we played two really tough matches, lost both,” Izdepski said. “So, we needed this win to start boosting our confidence back up. So, we’re using tonight as a stepping stone to say, let’s get better today, tomorrow. We’re gonna get better so we can take that into postseason play.”
Arcadia 3 BR Falls 1
Arcadia finished the regular season with another conference win over Black River Falls, this one in four sets.
Individual set scores and statistics were not available to the Times.
Thursday’s win means Arcadia finishes the 2023 Coulee Conference schedule with a 7-4 record, good for third in the conference behind unbeaten West Salem and Westby (10-2).
Norse beat G-E-T in volleyball
The Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School volleyball team ended the regular season last Thursday with a visit from one of the top teams in the Coulee Conference.
The Red Hawks lost in three sets to Westby and now look forward to the postseason this week with a visit to Wisconsin Dells on Tuesday.
Arcadia also hosted G-E-T last Tuesday (see story elsewhere in sports).
Against Westby (23-11 overall, 10-2 Coulee) the Red Hawks opened with some fight, but the Norse hung on for a 25-21 win. The visitors followed with a 25-13 win in set two and a 25-15 win in set three.
Tatum Johnson paced G-E-T in both kills (seven) and blocks (two), and Amanda Pierson was their best passer with 13 assists. Laela Schmitt led the Red Hawks in aces with four.
G-E-T finishes the regular season with a 9-25 record, including a 3-9 run in the Coulee.
