Facing a murderer's row of SWAL conference powers, the Boscobel volleyball team couldn't pull off any upsets this week.
On Thursday, the Bulldogs faced a high-flying Southwestern squad that cruised to a 25-7, 25-15, 25-9 victory.
Then, Boscobel had to face SWAL leaders Fennimore on Tuesday, and despite a game effort, the Bulldogs lost 25-9, 25-14, 25-14 to continue their season-long losing streak.
"We didn't play that bad [against Fennimore]," said Boscobel coach Jeff Ostheimer. "But, [the Eagles] keep the ball in play and force you to make mistakes."
And eventually, the Eagles wore down Boscobel.
Setting up a showdown with Southwestern on Thursday for the SWAL championship, Fennimore kept the pressure on Boscobel all night Tuesday.
Still, there a lot of bright spots for the Bulldogs.
"We passed the ball and played defense better than we had the last few games," said Ostheimer. "That allowed us to stay in there against them."
Bri Wagner and Beth Imhoff led Boscobel with three kills apiece, while Kelsey Trumm finished with a team-high eight digs and Allison Krogen doled out six assists. Wagner also had two aces.
Southwestern's Katelyn Hoppman is considered one of the best hitters in the state, and on Thursday, she provided the evidence as to why everything thinks so.
Compiling 21 kills, Hoffman, feeding off 24 assists from Molly Wubben, led the Wildcats to a 3-0 sweep of the Bulldogs.
"They've got a girl who leads the state in kills," said Ostheimer. "And she's right up there in a couple others categories as well."
Southwestern also has one of the state's leaders in aces.
"They just had too much firepower," said Ostheimer.
For Boscobel, Wagner had four kills, three aces and three assists, while Hillary Loomis added three kills and a block. Krogen led the way in assists with four, while Nicole Pegram had a block.
After traveling to Cuba City on Thursday, the Bulldogs begin tournament play. Regionals start Oct. 18.