HOLMEN — She did it over and over again with striking consistency.
Holmen High School junior Moira Linse stepped up to serve, tossed the volleyball in the air, smacked the snot out of and watched it sail to the net, barely clear it and disappear.
There were several positive things for the Vikings to take from a 25-17, 25-15, 25-21 victory over Aquinas at the Bernie L. Ferry Fieldhouse on Tuesday.
But among the hitting and scrappy defense Holmen showed in an MVC nettle between WIAA state qualifiers from 2024, the serving is what stood out.
Whether it was Linse or senior Macy Kline or senior Sadie Mayer, the Vikings kept the pressure on Aquinas during the sweep, which pushed their overall record to 9-0 and conference mark to 2-0.
“That’s something we really try to work on,” Holmen coach Nicky Rose said of the serve. “That’s something we can control. It’s the only thing you can control.
“If we can serve tough and control the one thing we can control, that’s kind of a big deal.”
Linse had six aces, and Holmen shared the workload to hand Aquinas (2-7, 0-2) its second straight conference defeat.
Senior Brenna Schmidt led the Vikings with 11 kills, while senior Charley Casey added six and Linse four. Senior Macy Kline had 19 digs, and Mayer and senior Makenna McHugh had 13 assists each.
Senior Sammy Davis had nine kills and 13 digs to lead the Blugolds. Junior Aubrey Coyne had 20 digs and junior Adelaide Bezemek 15 assists and 10 digs.
Kline, a UW-Green Bay commit, said the Vikings picked up the pace and became more comfortable as the match progressed.
“It took us a little bit,” she said. “But once we got the nerves out from playing in front of so many people, we started to find our hitters better, what was working for us, and we played better defense.
“Toward the end, yes, we played the way we wanted to.”
Central 3, Onalaska 1
ONALASKA — The RiverHawks (6-3, 1-1) won their first conference match by handing the Hilltoppers a 25-20, 17-25, 25-21, 25-21 defeat.
Junior Mady Young had 12 kills, 17 digs and five aces for Central, while senior Makena McGarry had 12 kills for Onalaska (7-2, 1-1).
Junior McKenna Michaels added 11 kills, junior Ellie Gillitzer 31 digs and 30 assists and junior Celia Christopherson 28 digs for the RiverHawks.
Freshman Zayda Lawrence had 24 digs and sophomore McKenzie Bauer 32 assists and 13 digs for the Hilltoppers.
Caledonia 3, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 0
ZUMBROTA — The Warriors (5-0, 2-0 Three Rivers) remained unbeaten with a one-sided victory.
Junior Elsa Blum had a team-high seven kills and three aces, and junior Avery Augedahl led the way with 24 assists.
Senior Aubrie Klug led the Warriors with 17 digs, junior Paizley Lange six kills and three aces and senior Kensey King six blocks to go with five kills.
West Salem 3, Viroqua 1
VIROQUA — The Panthers beat the Blackhawks 25-13, 16-25, 25-21, 25-19 to win their 27th straight conference match.
Senior Josie Brudos had a team-high 12 kills and 10 digs, and junior Addy Oldenburg added 10 kills. Senior Natalie Reichert had 10 digs, AJ Jehn 21 assists and freshman Kensley Skifton four blocks.
Onalaska Luther 3, G-E-T 1
GALESVILLE — The Knights (2-0, 1-0) were led by senior Kayla Schiebel’s 15 kills in an 18-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-19 victory.
Sophomore Audrey Clark added 12 kills and sophomore Tessa Gloede six. Junior Addie Schaper had 28 assists , and senior Marlie Krause and sophomore Carstn Krause each had six digs for Luther.
Reedsburg Triangular
REEDSBURG — Melrose-Mindoro came up short in a 25-12, 25-8 match against Reedsburg and a 25-13, 25-23 match to Mauston.
Sparta 3, Logan 0
LA CROSSE — The Spartans prevailed 25-15, 25-23, 26-14 at the Steve Hole Field House.
Senior Kaia DePaolo and junior Lilly Dettwiler each had 10 kills for the Rangers, and DePaolo added seven digs.
Senior Alysha Hayes had a team-high 16 digs and nine digs for Logan.
