Heights spikers set for playoffs

Kala O’Connell gave the traditional “coach speak.” One game at a time. Not looking ahead, etc., etc. But O’Connell, Wisconsin Heights’ girls’ volleyball coach, has a good feeling about her Vanguards. Second-seeded Heights opened the postseason Tuesday with a WIAA Division 3 quarterfinal against 15th seeded Cambridge. If Heights defeated Cambridge, it would host the winner of the No. 7 Mineral Point and 10th-seeded Parkview Thursday at 7 p.m. in a regional semifinal. If the Vanguards win there, they would host the regional finals Saturday at 7 p.m. If the seeds hold, Heights would then meet No. 3 River Ridge. The sectional semifinals are Oct. 31 and the sectional finals are Nov. 2. And while O’Connell was saying all the right things, she’s also optimistic her team is ready to embark on a big playoff run. “If the girls play like I know they can, we should be advancing through regionals,” O’Connell said. “I think it’s going to be a fun week.” Heights certainly had a good time last week, notching impressive wins over Cambridge and Belleville. The Vanguards downed the Blue Jays, 25-9, 25-10, 25-18, on Oct. 15. Ashlee Adler had seven kills, five digs, two aces and two blocks, while Kelsi Handel had 11 digs, two aces and two blocks. Jada Wood had 20 assists, three kills and two aces, and Raegan Doherty had seven kills, five digs and three assists. Kylee Doherty had four kills, three digs and three aces, while Riley Lynch had three kills. Emily VanRiper had seven aces and seven digs, while Daryn Schafer had two digs. It was also ‘Senior Night,’ and Heights honored a special group that included Adler, Wood, Handel, Raegan Doherty, Liz Strait and Abby Wolfe. Strait has been out with a hip injury for the past four weeks, but she started the game with her team. “She wanted to partake in ‘Senior Night’ so we were able to put her in the line-up,” O’Connell said. “Then she subbed out after two plays, one in which she got a dig so that was fun.” Heights led, 16-9, when VanRiper served nine straight points — highlighted by three aces — to end the first set. The Vanguards then rolled in the second set, and played several girls in the third set. “We were able to get everyone in for some playing time,” O’Connell said. “We play Cambridge in the first round of regionals so it was a nice preview of what we’ll see.” Heights then rolled past Belleville, 25-14, 25-23, 25-15, on Oct. 17. Adler again led the way with 10 kills, 10 digs and six aces, while Handel had 12 digs, four kills, four assists and two blocks. Wood had 25 assists, eight digs and three kills and Raegan Doherty had eight kills and seven digs. Kylee Doherty had 13 digs, five kills and five aces, while Lynch had two digs. VanRiper added seven digs and two aces. In the first set, Adler had four early aces as Heights raced to a 12-5 lead. Raegan Doherty had four straight service points as the lead grew to 19-10, then VanRiper served set point. The second set was more of a struggle and Heights trailed, 22-21 and 23-22 late. After the Vanguards tied it, though, Kylee Doherty served out the set and Heights grabbed a 2-0 lead. “In set one we were playing great, everything was clicking,” O’Connell said. “Our serving was good, we were running plays, we were tracking down balls. “We beat ourselves in set two. We made so many mental errors. We had eight bad hits, whether they were out or in the net. We weren’t going to let that happen in the third set.” They didn’t. The set was deadlocked, 11-11, when the Vanguards closed on a 14-4 run to finish out the match. Kylee Doherty, VanRiper, Adler and Handel all had big service rotations to help put Belleville away. “It was a good win, something to carry over to postseason,” O’Connell said.