DEFOREST — The Holmen High School volleyball team’s unbeaten season came to an end at the WIAA Division 1 sectional championship round on Saturday.
The second-seeded Vikings, who won MVC and regional titles this season before knocking off DeForest in a sectional semifinal on Thursday, dropped a 25-16, 25-19, 25-20 championship match to top-seeded and fourth-ranked Waunakee.
Holmen, which finished its season with a 31-1 record, was ranked fifth in Division 1 after the regular season.
The Warriors (40-8) stopped the Vikings from qualifying for their second straight state tournament and became the first team to beat them since Milwaukee DSHA in last year’s state quarterfinals.
Waunakee pulled away in the first set with an 11-3 run after the teams were tied at 7. Holmen cut an 18-10 deficit to 18-15 but couldn’t get any closer.
The Vikings faced deficits of eight points regularly in the second set before getting within 20-17, but the Warriors held on.
Holmen also battled back from an early deficit in the third set and built a 19-17 lead before Waunakee tied things up at 20, then scored the final five points for the sweep.
Senior Brenna Schmidt led Holmen with 10 kills, and senior Macy Kline posted team-high in digs (10) and service aces (3).
Junior Moira Linse had five kills and two aces and senior Makenna McHugh nine assists and nine digs.
Senior Sadie Mayer had eight assists, senior Charley Casey seven digs and three kills and senior Hadley Teff four blocks and two kills.
