B-T tops Whitehall, falls to Spring Valley in net regionals
The Blair-Taylor volleyball team celebrated after winning the first set against Spring Valley last Thursday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Faith Olson of Blair-Taylor spiked the ball during their regional match against Whitehall last week Tuesday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
Whitehall’s Abby Koepke set the ball over the net during their regional match at Blair-Taylor last week Tuesday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
The best volleyball season in recent history came to an end for Blair-Taylor last Thursday with a 3-1 loss to Spring Valley in the regional semifinal round.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats advanced to the semifinal round with a 3-0 win over Whitehall. B-T won the first set against (5) Spring Valley, but the Cardinals took the next three, ending B-T’s season. Spring Valley lost 3-1 to Westby in the regional final on Saturday.
The Wildcats finished the season with a 19-7 record and they were second in the Dairyland Conference behind only Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran. The success may have been a surprise to some after B-T won just five matches in 2021. Despite consistent success in other sports, it was the first time the B-T volleyball team finished with a winning record since at least 2009, according to WisSports.net.
WHS 20 18 16
B-T 25 25 25
The Wildcats took early leads in the first two sets and held on for wins before completing the sweep.
B-T led 5-1 in the first set and 6-1 in the second as they went on to win both. Whitehall kept the first set close throughout as B-T won by five. The Wildcats took a 17-4 lead in the second set before the Norse battled back to get within seven at 23-16, but B-T scored the last two points. The third set was close early before B-T pulled away for a 25-16 win to complete the sweep.
No statistics for B-T were reported to the Times.
Norah Youngbauer led Whitehall with nine kills and 10 digs. Abby Koepke finished with 16 set assists.
Whitehall finished the season with a 9-17 record.
SV 22 27 25 25
B-T 25 25 17 21
After splitting two close sets, the Cardinals took control in the third.
Spring Valley had an early lead in the first set before a B-T time out sparked a run in which the Wildcats scored five of six points to take a 17-15 lead. B-T appeared to be in control with a 23-17 lead before Spring Valley scored three straight to make it more interesting. B-T scored the last two points for the win.
The teams were neck-and-neck in the next set, but the Cardinals pulled ahead late and won 27-25. Spring Valley then went on a run to pull away in the third set and took the fourth for the win.
No statistics for B-T were reported to the Times.
