Red Hawks lose pair of four-set matches

Though they nabbed a set win in each match, the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau volleyball team dropped another pair of conference contests last Tuesday in Viroqua.

The Red Hawks were unable to capitalize and finally get a Coulee win, losing in four sets to both Onalaska and Viroqua last week.

G-E-T hosts Westby on Thursday and plays at Black River Falls on Tuesday in conference action. Both matches are set to begin a 7 p.m.

“Starting the season with five of six matches on the road, I’m really looking forward to the remainder of our conference matches in which we’ll be at home in five of our final six matches,” said G-E-T head coach Marc Baures.

Luther 3 G-E-T 1

After dropping the first two sets, G-E-T was unable to claw its way back against the Knights in a four-set defeat 10-25, 22-25, 25-22, 20-25.

McKenna Schindler had six kills, Clara Schulze notched nine digs, the duo of Amelia Walz and Taryn Leighty combined for 19 assists and Leighty also served up eight aces.

“We came out flat against Luther, struggling with our attacks and serve receive,” Baures said. “Taryn did a marvelous job with her serves, but as a team we weren’t nearly as aggressive as we usually are. Luther passes very well as a team, so not being aggressive with our serve attack puts us in a tough spot to secure wins.”

Viroqua 3 G-E-T 1

The Red Hawks had the match even through two sets but faltered in the final two to lose to the Blackhawks 16-25, 25-21, 19-25, 18-25.

G-E-T leaders included Rylynn Simmons with 11 kills and eight digs, Claire Baures with seven kills, Schulze with 10 digs and the duo of Walz and Leighty with 25 assists total.

“I felt we played better against Viroqua than what the score shows. I challenged the girls to play more aggressively in some specific areas, and they did so, which speaks to their willingness to accept challenges and adapt their play quickly,” Baures said. “We did well when we could run our middle attack and will continue to push our offense through the middle to get our outside hitters on the pins more one on one blocking and in turn, increase our kills.”