Norse split with ECI, B-T
Kambrie Wurzer served during Whitehall’s win over Blair-Taylor last Thursday. (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)
After entering last week without losing a single set this season, Whitehall lost four straight, but recovered with three wins to split two matches.
The Norse came into the week with a match record of 4-0 and a set record of 12-0, but lost three straight sets to Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran on Tuesday. It looked like they were in trouble again on Thursday at Blair-Taylor, but they recovered, winning three straight after dropping the first set.
Whitehall enters this week with a match record of 5-1 and a set record of 15-4. They played Dairyland Conference powerhouse Cochrane-Fountain City this week, heading to C-FC on Tuesday before hosting the Pirates on Thursday. They’re scheduled to play at Eleva-Strum next Thursday.
ECI 26 25 25
WHS 24 16 5
The Norse weren’t able to recover from a close loss in the first set.
Whitehall battled until the end, losing 26-24 to go down 1-0 in the match. The next two sets were all ECI as the Lancers won by a combined 29 points.
Nylah Lisowski had nine kills and seven digs for the Indees while Allison Koepke finished with seven kills and 10 digs and Abby Semb had two kills and a team-high 12 digs. Olivia Youngbauer led the team with 16 set assists to go with seven digs and two aces.
WHS 19 25 25 25
B-T 25 11 9 21
Unlike the last time the two teams squared off, B-T got off to a fast start before Whitehall took control.
The Norse took a 21-1 lead in the first set when they swept B-T two weeks ago, but last week it was B-T taking an early lead. The teams went back-and-forth in the first set before the Wildcats took control late for a 25-19 win.
It was all Whitehall from there. The Norse stymied the Wildcats’ offense in the second and third sets, holding them to a combined 20 points as Whitehall scored two double-digit wins. The fourth set was close, but Whitehall pulled off a four-point win.
Koepke had 13 kills and 14 digs for the Norse, while Lisowski had 18 kills, 13 digs and 10 aces. Semb chipped in with four kills, Avery Sonsalla added three. Semb also had 13 digs, while Olivia Youngbauer had 18 to go with 29 assists.
Madison Goodbear led B-T with 21 assists while Lindsay Steien had seven kills.
