Spring Valley sweeps B-T in net regional

The Blair-Taylor volleyball team was close early, but couldn’t get over the hump before Spring Valley finished the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association regional sweep.

The 13th-seeded Wildcats were competitive with fourth-seeded Spring Valley last week Tuesday, but the Cardinals won the first two sets by seven points each. Spring Valley finished the sweep with an 11-point win to advance to the second round in their Division Three bracket.

The second round was where it ended for the Cardinals as they lost, 3-0, to (5) Eau Claire Regis. Regis then lost to the only other private school in the bracket, Chippewa Falls McDonell Central Catholic, 3-0. The team from Chippewa Falls will play Fall Creek in the sectional semifinal on Thursday of this week.

B-T finished the season with a 9-13 record. They struggled down the stretch, falling in nine of their final 12 matches.

B-T   18 18 14

SV    25 25 25

The Wildcats struggled offensively as they tried to stick with the Cardinals.

B-T had two service aces in the match, compared to eight errors. The team had some success at the net as freshman Chloe Medenblik (11) and sophomore Andrea Waldera (9) combined for 20 kills. Waldera also had a block and Medenblik had both of B-T’s aces. 

The team also got three kills from Ryleigh Seitz, two from Sara Steffenson and one from Anna White. 

White had a team-high five set assists for B-T, Madalynn Frederixon had three and Steffenson added one.

Waldera led the team with 10 digs, one more than Paige Kelly. Jenna Beam finished with four; White, three; Medenblik, two; Frederixon and Isabelle Woodard, one.