MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Oct. 21–28)
WIAA D4 VOLLEYBALL: No. 6 Darlington 3, No. 3 Cuba City 2

By Casey Lindecrantz, Republican Journal / Tri-County Press

Redbirds upset Cubans in bid for Regional title berth
CUBA CITY — For the first time since 2022, the #6 Redbirds (19-16) came away from a match with Cuba City (24-14) with a win. The 3-2 win at the third-seeded Cubans, 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 25-27, 17-15, came as just three sixth-or-lower seeded teams advance to a regional final in Division 3.

Darlington’s previous match against Cuba City on Sept. 4, also held in Jerry Petitgoue Gymnasium, ended in a 3-0 loss, 25-12, 25-16, 25-17. 

“After the win against Prairie du Chien, we quickly switched gears to focus on Cuba,” Redbirds head coach Pamela Ritchie said. “We previously had a completely different lineup and players in different roles. We really focused on their hitting tendencies, and making sure that our block and defense would create a problem for Cuba to go on offensive runs.”

Runs favoring either side of Thursday’s regional semifinal were virtually nonexistent in every set, with the lead exchanging hands five times and the gap being no larger than four points in the first set alone. The close of the first nearly ended in Darlington’s favor as Maddie Gratz earned a block, giving her team a 24-22 lead. Unfortunately, Cuba City rallied with four unanswered points to claim the set.

The Redbirds didn’t immediately relent, claiming the next two sets, despite some scares. A familiar sight came in the second as Sydney Wiegel aced late, propelling her team to a set point moment at a 24-23 advantage. Where history didn’t repeat itself was that an attacking error by the Cubans sent the set away to put the match even at 1-1.

Darlington opened the third on a 4-0 run thanks to kills as much as errors from the host school, put a set in motion where the Redbirds played almost exclusively with the lead, and never a deficit. Darlington also earned the largest lead held by any team to that point in the evening — five points late, 20-15, as well as at the final whistle. The final point of the third was earned as Olivea Winslow dove for a dig that bounded toward Camryn Andrews, who faced away from the net as she set the ball. Her touch on the set was perfect for Catie Hartwig in the middle, who shoved an unreturnable attack to the Cuban court.

The match threatened to end in the fourth as the Redbirds kept Cuba City on its heels to the final rallies, and they eventually were staring down a 24-23 advantage as Lilly Ritchie found a gap in the Cuban court. A 4-1 Cuba City run closed the fourth out in the second extra-rally contest of the night.

While extra rallies proved to be the bane of Darlington through the fourth, the Redbirds didn’t drop the eventual fifth set despite further extra time on the court. 

“Winning that 5-set match, with three going into extra points, and in their gym, was huge,” Pamela Ritchie said. “These girls have never beat Cuba. It was definitely a core Darlington Volleyball memory, for not only our athletes, but the community as well. The atmosphere, the grit, and the determination was remarkable, and I am so proud of the entire team.”

Looking further at the program’s last win over Cuba City — while this year’s squad holds five seniors on the roster, none saw the court  in the 2022 win, with just Hartwig and Gratz having a spot on the roster.

Despite the success being a team effort, one Redbird was a constant on the team — Lilly Ritchie. She consistently made plays for the team, acquiring a triple-double via 22 kills, 23 digs, and 27 assists. Her three aces also co-led the team with Wiegel in the marathon win. Gratz was a runner up in kills with 14, while Catie Hartwig and Raynie Norgard tied for third with seven each.

Team energy was another important component to Darlington’s success, something Pamela Ritchie’s worked on in recent weeks with her team. 

“We’ve really worked on the importance of the energy that comes from our bench,” she said. “They collectively are our seventh player, and in the last few weeks, I feel that they have really excelled at creating energy during our matches. Our high school fans and parents were also hugely impactful in the atmosphere during our playoff run as well.”

The Redbirds have gone on an 11-5 run dating back to their first match in October on the sixth up to Thursday’s effort at the Cubans. 

To even have a shot at a match with Cuba City, Darlington first needed to down #11 Prairie du Chien (1-20). The Redbirds did just that in straight sets, 25-15, 25-17, 25-12.

Lilly Ritchie co-led kills with Gratz at nine, while the former also led the service (5 aces) and assisting (15) efforts. The latter paced the team’s digs (10), while Hartwig did so in blocks (3).

“Getting prepared for our Prairie match, we definitely knew that we could be in control the whole match,” Pamela Ritchie said. “We talked about controlling the game as much as we could by serving tough and taking care of the ball. That match proved to be a little slower paced than what we usually experience with our SWAL competition.”

None of the sixth-or-lower D3 seeds advanced beyond a regional final match, and the same was true for the Redbirds at #2 Marshall (25-10) in a 3-0 loss on Oct. 25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-15.

“We knew headed into Marshall that it would be a tough battle,” Pamela Ritchie said. “Being Capitol - South conference champs and a physically gifted team, we knew we had to play our best. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get into a groove. Our serve receive that was pretty solid on Thursday night really seemed to struggle against Marshall. They were able to expose our weaknesses defensively, which made it tough for our offense to really get rolling. Marshall is a tough team, and the battle between them and #1 Mineral Point should be a good one.” 

Andrews led Darlington assists (12), while Lilly Ritchie’s seven kills and 12 digs were both team-highs. Other stat leaders were Wiegel (2 aces) and Hartwig (5 blocks).

“Losing is never easy, especially when it’s our seniors’ last match,” Pamela Ritchie said. “Those are always tough conversations. I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to coach them in some capacity the past four years.”