Raiders string together wins at Great River Sprawl

Thanks to a roster featuring eight returning players with prior varsity experience, the Arcadia volleyball team enters this fall with hopes of a successful campaign. They got things started with a handful of wins at an early-season tournament ahead of Labor Day.

The Raiders were one of 24 teams taking part in the annual Great River Sprawl in Onalaska, held last Wednesday and Thursday at the Omni Center and the newly-opened Dash Center.

Arcadia was part of the pool of teams playing at the Dash Center on Wednesday, where they suffered a pair of losses but bookended them with wins.

The Raiders began tournament play by sweeping Richland Center, followed by two-set losses to both Onalaska (16-25, 22-25) and Northwestern (14-25, 23-25). They ended the day on a high note by sweeping Pittsville to finish the day 2-2.

Arcadia’s second day of competition in Onalaska included a dominant sweep of Bangor (25-17, 25-5) and a comeback win in three sets over Brookwood (14-25, 29-27, 15-11).

Individual stats for matches were not available at the time of publication.

The Raiders’ veteran varsity roster includes senior libero Justine Sonsalla and senior setter/outside hitter Adella Anderson, who each have three years of prior varsity experience. Junior middle blocker Tatum Drazkowski and senior middle/outside hitter Joselyn Lockington each enter their third year on varsity.

That experienced core for head coach Natalie Anderson are joined by four more players who saw some time on varsity in 2024: senior middle/outside hitters Hermione Carreon and Jaylie Dahl, senior defensive specialist/setter Kiley Fitzpatrick and junior middle/outside hitter Layna Wozney.

Arcadia opens Coulee play by hosting Viroqua on Thursday at 7 p.m. Next week, the Raiders hit the road to face Black River Falls on Tuesday at 7 p.m.