Yellowjackets 3, La Crosse 0
After Friday's loss to UW-Platteville, the Yellowjacket volleyball team knew that two things had to happen on Saturday in order for them to qualify for the WIAC playoffs. First, they had to take care of business and defeat UW-La Crosse at home. Second, they needed UW-Oshkosh, who entered the day tied for fourth place in the WIAC to knock off UW-River Falls, who was one game ahead of the Yellowjackets in the standings.
The Yellowjackets took care of business at Mertz Mortorelli Gym. Unfortunately, River Falls got the job done on their home court as well, meaning that Saturday's matinee at Mertz Mortorelli Gym was the final curtain on the 2011 season.
But what a way to finish.
The Yellowjackets came out on fire and kept it rolling through all three sets, crushing La Crosse 25-16, 25-12 and 26-24 to gain the 3-0 victory.
It was one of the most complete efforts of the year for the Yellowjackets, who will close the season 16-17 overall and 2-6 in the WIAC.
Keely Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko) (Esko, Minn.) started the match off with a service ace, which was a sign of things to come, as she had a team-leading four aces in the match. The Yellowjackets built a 5-2 lead when Nikki Gosson (Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) (Mankato, Minn.) took the ball and served the Yellowjackets on a 9-0 run, building 14-2 lead. The Eagles rallied, going on a 7-0 run of their own, but it was too little too late and the Yellowjackets closed out the first set to grab a 1-0 lead.
Things continued the same way in the second set. A kill by Kitty Tynen (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) (Stillwater, Minn.) on the La Crosse serve to open the set gave the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead. Deadrick then took the ball and served the Yellowjackets to a 7-0 lead. With the score at 11-4, Erin Booth (Baldwin, Wis./Baldwin-Woodville) (Baldwin, Wis.) held serve for three points to make it a ten-point lead at 14-4. The Yellowjackets cruised from that point, ending the set on a 3-0 run and taking a two game lead in the match.
The third set had more drama than the first two, as La Crosse didn't fall behind early and forced the Yellowjackets to fight for the win. The set was going back-and-forth and the Eagles grabbed a one-point lead at 11-10. Tynen picked up another of her nine kills in the match to tie it at 11 apiece. From there, Deadrick again got on a service roll, eventually staking the Yellowjackets to an 18-11 lead. The Eagles battled back, however, battled back. Trailing 22-14, La Crosse won five consecutive points to cut the margin to three. The Yellowjackets took the next two points, putting themselves on the cusp of winning the match at 24-19. But La Crosse started rolling again, riding the serving of Meghan Ashwill to five straight points to tie the set at 24 all. Following a Yellowjacket timeout, the home team emerged from the huddle and took the final two points, closing out the set and picking up the win.
Senior Rachel Langer (Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth) (Ellsworth, Wis.) led the Yellowjackets with 12 kills, followed by Tynen with nine. Gosson and Salann Gilbert (Solon Springs, Wis./Solon Springs) (Solon Springs, Wis.) had seven each. Gilbert had a 50% attack percentage. As a team, the Yellowjackets fired at a .277 clip, considerably higher than La Crosse, who had a pedestrian .074 attack percentage. In addition to leading the Yellowjackets in aces, Deadrick was also tops in assists with 31 and blocks with two. Freshman Emily Cole (Grantsburg, Wis./Grantsburg) (Grantsburg, Wis.) led the balanced Yellowjacket defense with seven digs.
Erin Stalker led La Crosse with ten kills and Liz Schlobom had 20 assists. Crystal Ziegler led the Eagles with eight digs.
With the season coming to a close, it marks the final time that two players will don the Yellowjacket uniform, as seniors Rachel Langer (Ellsworth, Wis./Ellsworth) and Sarah Gruber (Belgrade, Minn./Belgrade) (Belgrade, Minn.) will be graduating.
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