HOLMEN — The Holmen High School volleyball team is one win away from a perfect MVC season, and it provided some momentum to do just that with an exciting three-set victory over second-place Onalaska at the Bernie L. Ferry Fieldhouse on Thursday.
The Vikings won the first couple of sets handily before showing its true mettle in a 25-17, 25-19, 28-26 win over the Hilltoppers.
Holmen (29-0 overall, 11-0 MVC), ranked sixth in Division 1 by the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association, came back from deficits of 13-8 and 20-14 in the third set on Senior Night.
“After losing (to Onalaska) at home last year, we’ve been wanting this,” senior Brenna Schmidt said of the win. “Even though we were behind, we knew we could do it.
“We know we are capable of really hard things like that because that motivates us.”
The motivation moving forward centers on next Thursday’s regular-season finale at Logan. A win there gives the Vikings an unblemished conference championship for the second time in three seasons and sends them into the WIAA postseason on a high note.
Senior Charley Casey had a team-high 14 kills against Onalaska (17-9, 6-4), which entered the match with eight wins in its previous nine matchups. She also had nine digs and six service aces as Holmen won its 14th conference match in a row.
Schmidt added eight kills and senior Hadley Teff five. Senior Macy Kline had 18 digs and senior Makenna McHugh 16 assists, 10 digs and three aces.
The Vikings also frustrated Onalaska by getting their hands on the attacks of Makena McGarry and Isabella Malecek with regularity. The Hilltoppers set up good shots, but the Vikings were able to neutralize them.
McGarry did end up with a team-high 11 kills and added five digs. Junior Natalie Marso added seven kills and junior Kendall Carlson four to go with four blocks.
Freshman Ella Eckstein had 17 assists and sophomore McKenzie Bauer 15 digs.
Schmidt said tempo has been a focal point for the Vikings as they complete the regular season and that there has been a positive difference in the flow of the offense in recent weeks.
“We have really grown in our comfort level with the offense,” she said. “We’ve gotten our tempo down with our setters. We’ve worked really hard with them for that connection.
“Since the tournament we played in Kettle Moraine, I think that’s something we’ve seen grow, and now we just try to keep it going.”
