Manawa faces off against Amherst, I-S and Bonduel in pool play
By Corrie Ziemer
Central Wisconsin-8 Conference volleyball teams finished up conference play for the season with a final match Oct. 6 and pool play tournaments Oct. 10.
For Manawa, this meant traveling to Wittenberg-Birnamwood and facing off against Amherst, Iola-Scandinavia and Bonduel in Amherst in pool play.
W-B 3, Manawa 0
WITTENBERG – The Chargers beat the Wolves in three games, but Manawa played really good volleyball at the pool play tournament.
The scores against Wittenberg-Birnamwood were not a true indication of how closely the Wolves played against the Chargers, especially in the first and second sets. Though W-B won 25-15, 25-12, 25-10, the Wolves played some really good offense, setting the ball up 55 times.
Chloe Koehn had another really good match for the Wolves. She had nine kills and one ace for 10 total points. Claire Kreklow and Harmony Rice each contributed two points, while Ellen Field, JorjaRose Brennan and Haley Reierson each had one. Kreklow also led her team with six assists and had nine digs.
Reierson played really good defense also. She had eight digs. Receiving errors and missed servers were an issue for the Wolves once again. Though nine team members served on the evening, only five of them were 100 percent from the line: Reierson (8-8), Kreklow (5-5), Brennan (3-3), Field (2-2) and Skye Amador (1-1).
CWC-8 pool play
AMHERST – The Wolves opened the tournament against Amherst.
The Falcons came out swinging, while the Wolves struggled to get into the rhythm of the game. The Falcons won the first set easily, 25-8. In the second set, Manawa started with a six-point run, with two aces from Reierson. The momentum of the early lead helped the Wolves keep the Falcons close throughout the entire game. Though the Falcons finished the match 25-19, Manawa made them work for the win.
Koehn led the team in points with six, while Kreklow had three and Reierson and Rice each had two.
Mandy Krueger led in the assist column with three, while Sophie Forbes and Brennan each had five digs.
The Wolves were very consistent from the service line during this match, missing only one of 28 serves. Reierson serving 10-for-10, followed by Koehn (6-6), Brennan (4-4), Carlee Zander (3-3), Krueger (2-2) and Kreklow (1-1).
After picking up their level of play against Amherst, the Wolves were ready to face off against Iola-Scandinavia. They started the match out against the Thunderbirds strong and were able to win the first set 25-20. In the second set, they took an early lead and although I-S tried to fight its way back into the game, Manawa won the set and match, 25-23.
Brennan had an amazing defensive game, saving the ball 14 times, while Forbes had eight saves as libero. The Wolves also demonstrated how well-rounded of a team they can be, as seven players scored. Rice led the way with five points, two of them coming on block kills. Reierson and Kreklow each had four points; Field and Koehn contributed three; Zander had two; and Krueger had one. Kreklow also had six assists and Reierson led from the service line once again, serving a perfect 14-14. Brennan (6-6) and Krueger (1-1) were also 100 percent from the line.
Momentum from the win against the T-Birds helped Manawa play a very tough first set against Bonduel. Unfortunately, missed serves from the Wolves gave Bonduel four free points which ended up being the difference in the game.
Bonduel won the first set 25-21. The Wolves struggled to pass the ball in the second set, which kept them from running an aggressive offense. Bonduel took advantage of the Wolves’ passing errors and finished the match 25-10.
Zander led the team with four points and served 8-for-8 from the line. Rice was not far behind in points with 3.5 and Koehn and Kreklow each contributed two while Field had one and Reierson had 0.5. Krueger had three assists and also served 100 percent, serving 6-for-6. Defensively, Koehn had five digs and Forbes had four. Brennan was the only other 100 percent server, serving 2-for-2.
• Corrie Ziemer coaches the Manawa varsity volleyball team.