Boscobel’s varsity volleyball team took first place in the non-conference invitational hosted at Boscobel High School Saturday, edging out Brookwood in a tie with four wins and one loss.
The Boscobel girls started strong with a decisive 25-9 win in the first game of the invitational against Brookwood. The Falcons made an effort to regain ground, winning the second game 25-23, but the Bulldogs rebounded with a 15-13 win.
The second round had the Bulldogs facing the River Valley Blackhawks Varsity Reserve team. They won the first match 25-22, dropped behind in the second, 21-25, and regained the upper hand in the third, 15-10.
The third round offered up the Bulldogs only loss as they faced the Bangor. The Cardinals took the first game, 25-20. Boscobel shrunk the lead by winning the second game 25-23, but Bangor widened the spread with a 15-13 win in the final game.
The fourth round offered saw the Bulldogs face LaFarge. The Wildcats lost all three games to Boscobel, with the Bulldogs scoring 25-22, 25-18, and 15-12.
The final game saw the Bulldogs varsity team square off against their own Varsity Reserve, winning handily, 25-13, 25-14, and 15-8.
“I am very pleased with the team's effort Saturday,” said coach Jeff Ostheimer. “In three of the rounds, we were forced to go to the deciding third set and in two of those we were successful.”
“Being in those stressful situations early in the season will help us when conference starts.
Serving is team strength, according to the coach,
“The other parts of the game were a little inconsistent and gave the other teams a chance to build leads that we had to fight back from,” Ostheimer said. “We did a good job of keeping the pressure on the other team with our offense most of the day. When our offense struggled is when we gave up points and runs to the other teams.”
Emily Johnson provided solid hitting throughout the day, according to the coach. Danielle Ernst was solid in her hitting and blocking. Both were selected for the all-tournament team. And Haley Bray was solid in her libero position, providing good defensive play.
The coach also commended players MacKenzie Fischer, Miranda Beinborn, Sydney Williams, Jayden Molzof and Katelyn Wiegel for their play.
“We had a good day, but we know that we will have to clean some things up and continue to improve when we get to our tough conference schedule,” the coach said of his young team.
Results:
Boscobel – 1st with 4 wins and 1 loss
Brookwood – 2nd with 4 wins and 1 loss
River Valley Varsity Reserve – 3rd with 3 wins and 2 losses
LaFarge – 4th with 2 wins and 3 losses
Bangor – 5th with 2 wins and 3 losses
Boscobel Varsity Reserve – 6th with 0 wins and 5 losses
Boscobel will face the Riverdale Chieftains in an away game on September 8. They will face Mineral Point two days later on Sept. 10 on the home court. Both varsity matches begin at 7:15 p.m.
