Chris Caporale, sports@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Gresham Community School defenders Mackenzie Hoffman, left, and River Otradovec jump to block an attack by Rosholt during Gresham’s 3-1 loss at home Tuesday.
Leader Photo by Chris Caporale Gresham Community School junior Sydney Jensen attempts to block Rosholt’s Bre Richter during the second set of Tuesday night’s match. Gresham lost, 3-1.
The Gresham Community School girls volleyball team was able to hang with tough competition Tuesday night.
Fighting for second place in the Central Wisconsin Conference-10, the Wildcats lost a back-and-forth battle with Rosholt, 25-23, 21-25, 25-13, 25-9.
“We worked hard. We gave it all we had,” Gresham head coach Tim Wild said. “We were getting touches in the front row and slowing their hitters down. We played together as a team and that paid off.”
Neither team was able to lead by more than four points and the score was tied 16 times through the first two sets.
“They fought every point like each point is its own game,” Rosholt head coach Jessica Wennesberg said. “That’s how we look at it. We don’t let an opponent’s advantage get the best of us.”
The third game started the same, until Rosholt (11-3, 7-1 CWC-10) was able to string together two five-point runs for an 18-9 lead.
“We took their fire away and started to get in their heads a little bit. They have very good defense, and we took them out of their defense,” Wennesberg said.
The fourth game brought much of the same, with Rosholt senior Amber Bianco serving 10 consecutive points to turn a close game into a blowout.
Bianco added 13 kills and seven digs, while middle hitter Bre Richter added 27 kills on the night to lead the Hornets.
Richter’s kills got more powerful as the games went on and she became more comfortable going around the Wildcats’ blockers.
“I think we lost a little bit of focus,” Wild said. “That slowed us down. We weren’t moving our feet, therefore our passes weren’t there. It made it hard for us to get set up, and then they hit the ball well on us.”
The Wildcats (12-7, 7-2 CWC-10) continued to fight though. Whenever they needed points, junior Sydney Jensen and senior River Otradovec found a way to put the ball down on the other side of the net.
Jensen finished with 16 kills, while Otradovec added 10.
“(Jensen) is athletic. She gives it everything she’s got,” Wild said. “She’s a competitor, and I couldn’t ask for more for her day in and day out.”