Neither Emma Dobbins nor Sammy Davis was deterred when the Aquinas High School volleyball team faced a four-point deficit in the fifth set of a WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal against Cuba City on Thursday.
Blugolds coach Danielle Dolan didn’t worry about the 11-7 advance the Cubans had built in the deciding game, either.
“I think our strength is that we play at the same caliber no matter what the score is,” Dolan said. “All you have to do in those situations is get the next point.”
Easier said than done against a team that won 60 matches the past two seasons and knocked Aquinas out of the tournament a year ago., but the Blugolds did that and more.
Dobbins gave Aquinas the next point, and senior Addy Foor another with consecutive kills. Those plays propelled the Blugolds to a 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 15-25, 15-13 victory that has them one victory away from qualifying for the state tournament.
Dobbins and Davis had three kills each and Addy Foor two of her own after Cuba City (30-2) built that 11-7 fifth-set lead and set up Aquinas for a sectional championship match against Laconia (27-2) in Richland Center on Saturday.
Dobbins slammed down the winner to move the Blugolds’ winning streak to nine matches. Davis tied the score at 12 and gave Aquinas 13-12 and 14-13 leads before the finish.
“We knew Cuba City was going to be a super-strong team coming in, and we’d have to play well,” Dobbins said. “They were going to get their points, and we had to get ours, too.”
Davis had a team-high 22 kills, and Foor added 14. Emineth had 13 and Kathryn Savoldelli seven. Savoldelli also tied Tessa Miskowski with a team-high 28 digs as both sides forced extended rally after extended rally.
Senior Josephine Lawton also returned to the lineup after missing tournament matches with an injury and responded with 48 assists and 15 digs.
“I think whenever you have a senior, specifically, get injured and battle back, that energy is key,” Dolan said. “All credit to Lauren (Von Ruden) and Addie (Bezemek) for what they did last week, but they knew this was coming and what a huge energy burst it was.”
Davis has 55 kills in her past two matches and is ready to tackle the Spartans for a chance at the team’s first state tournament since 2019. The Blugolds also advanced to the state tournament in 2016 with Dolan, the team’s first-year coach, part of the rotation.
“There was no doubt in my mind that we could win this,” Davis said. “Teams are going to go on runs against us, but we’re always going to fight back. We have that in us that we’re never gonna give up.”
