Heights spikers fall in regional finals

This outcome never crossed their collective minds. Such a conclusion was never considered. And why would it be? Wisconsin Heights’ girls volleyball team, the No. 2 seed in their sectional, hosted third-seeded River Ridge in a WIAA Division 3 regional final last Saturday. But River Ridge stunned the Vanguards with a 19-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-23 win. “I don’t think we came into the game assuming it would be easy, but it wasn’t even in our realm of possibilities that we would lose,” Heights coach Kala O’Connell said. “We had been trying to be mentally tougher and envisioning our success and getting rid of any negative thoughts, so to lose in regional finals in our gym was heart breaking.” The first set was nip and tuck and the teams were tied 11-11, 14-14 and 19-19. But Kelsi Handel went on a serving run that helped Heights score the final six points and win the first set. River Ridge jumped ahead early in the second set and stayed there. Heights tried battling back, but couldn’t overcome its deficit. “We had a little momentum at the end of the set, but it was too little, too late to get any more points than 19 before River Ridge won,” O’Connell said. The third set was tight throughout, with the teams knotted at 11 and later 22. But River Ridge scored the final three points and surged to a 2-1 lead. “We started to play like we had been defeated already,” O’Connell said. “Our passes were off, our hits were out or right to a River Ridge player, our communication was lacking and our energy had left the gym.” River Ridge jumped to leads of 9-6 and 17-11 in the fourth set when O’Connell took a timeout. “I had a “chat” with the girls,” she said. “They went out and played better.” Indeed. The Vanguards pulled within 22-20. Then following a pair of Jada Wood service points, Heights crept within 24-23. But River Ridge finished things on its third match point and moved onto sectionals. Ashlee Adler led the Vanguards with 13 kills and 11 digs, while Handel had nine kills, 13 digs, two blocks and two assists. Wood was terrific with 36 assists, 14 digs and five aces, while Raegan Doherty had 14 kills and 14 digs. Kylee Doherty had seven kills and seven digs, Riley Lynch had three kills and Emily VanRiper had 10 digs and two aces. “It was a very tough loss,” O’Connell said. “I’m still in the denial stage and can’t imagine not seeing those goofy girls every day after school. I’ve enjoyed working with them so much this year and they made my first year as head coach so fun.” Heights opened the tournament with a 25-19, 25-21, 25-19 win over 15th-seeded Cambridge in a regional quarterfinal last Tuesday. Adler led the way with 10 kills, 15 digs, two aces and two blocks, while Wood had 18 assists, five kills and four digs. Raegan Doherty had six kills, six digs and three assists, Kylee Doherty had eight digs, six kills and two aces, Handel had seven digs, two kills and two aces, Lynch had three kills, two blocks and two assists and Van Riper had two digs. “Cambridge definitely got better from the week before when we played them in a conference match,” O’Connell said. “Their coach told me afterwards that they practiced serving to specific people and not to others that have good serve receive. “They took advantage of our many missed serves and had a shot chart of us from the week before, so they knew where our hitters would most likely go. They came to play and it took us a bit by surprise at the beginning. The girls remained composed and got the win.” Heights then toppled seventh-seeded Mineral Point, 16-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-14 in the regional semifinals. Adler had four aces, 13 kills, two assists and 19 digs, while Wood had 33 assists, eight digs, five aces and three kills. Handel had five kills, two blocks, two assists and 11 digs and Raegan Doherty added six kills, seven digs, three aces and two blocks. Kylee Doherty had five aces, 11 kills and 13 digs, Lynch had seven kills and two blocks, and VanRiper had eight digs and three aces. “We lost the first set to Mineral Point and the girls were so annoyed by that,” O’Connell said. “They knew they didn’t play well and beat themselves. “I was so proud of them for not shutting down and rallying back to win the next three sets solidly. If you took away our missed serves we would have beaten them by a lot more.” Unfortunately for the Vanguards, their season ended two nights later. And instead of thinking about sectionals, O’Connell was forced to start thinking about 2020. “We have a lot of positions to replace, including a setter, but I’m confident that the underclassmen on varsity this year will step up and do a good job,” she said. “They improved so much this year and challenged everyone to be better.” Oct. 26 River Ridge 3, Wisconsin Heights 1 River Ridge ………….. 19 25 25 25 Wisconsin Heights …... 25 19 22 23 RIVER RIDGE (leaders) — Kills: White 29. Assists: Williams 15. Blocks: White 5. Aces: Zinkle 5. WISCONSIN HEIGHTS — Kills: Adler 13. Assists: Wood 36. Blocks: Handel 2. Aces: Wood 5. Digs: Wood 14. Oct. 24 Heights 3, Mineral Point 1 Mineral Point ……...... 25 15 13 14 WIsconsin Heights ….. 16 25 25 25 WISCONSIN HEIGHTS — Kills: Adler 13. Assists: Wood 33. Blocks: Lynch, R. Doherty 2. Aces: Wood, K. Doherty 5. Digs: Adler 19. Oct. 22 Wisconsin Heights 3, Cambridge 0 Cambridge …………….. 19 15 19 Wisconsin Heights ……… 25 25 25 CAMBRIDGE (leaders) — Kills: Korth 8. Blocks: Holdheuter 2. Aces: Peters 5. Digs: Jarlsberg 18. WISCONSIN HEIGHTS — Kills: Adler 10. Assists: Wood 18. Blocks: Lynch, Adler 2. Aces: Handel, Adler, K. Doherty 2. Digs: Adler 15.