The Bonduel High School volleyball team went 3-1 to take second in its tournament Tuesday, falling only to undefeated Waupaca in two games.
Down 17-15 in the first game against Waupaca, the Bears managed to rally to a 19-19 tie. The teams traded points until the Comets, who went 4-0 in the tournament, won 25-23. In the second game, the Bears fell behind 11-7 only to rally to a 16-16 tie. The game was against tied at 23-23 before Waupaca won out, 25-23.
“I kind of felt like the little things that were luck definitely weren’t going our way,” Bonduel coach Kim Bodoh said. “We lost those games by just a few points and we missed five serves. That’s the difference in a game right there.”
With a pair of experienced seniors in Jen Dowden and Lexi Reinke, along with junior returning starters Miranda Schmidt, Hayley Pues and Taylor Weier, the Bears are trying to bring along a large number of younger players this year.
“Some miscues with some of the younger players, the sets on and off the net. Working with the younger setters and older hitters, they need to get into their groove,” Bodoh said. “When things weren’t going right, they weren’t going right at all.”
Bodoh knows that getting the group on the same page is a process.
“I think the more that they gel as a team, the more that they play together, those little miscues and communication will get better,” she said. “We have a lot of work to do on the communication side of our team.”
The rest of the tournament went all Bonduel’s way. The Bears beat Omro (1-3) 25-14, 25-21; took down Suring (0-4) 25-22, 25-16; and topped Laona-Wabeno (1-3) 25-21, 25-12.
The win over Laona-Wabeno might have postseason consequences.
“That’s a big win for us,” Bodoh said. “That’s right out of our regional. We beat them in two (games). I’m hoping that, in the long run, come tournament time — which is weird to think about right now in pre-conference play — in the long run that will help us come tournament time.”
Bodoh said not playing any regional teams last year hurt the Bears’ seeding.
As much as the coach knows the Bears need to clean up the miscues on offense, Bodoh is excited about what she has seen from her defense.
“I’m very impressed with our hustle on defense,” she said. “That’s a step up from last year already.”
Dowden finished with 39 kills and 43 digs in the tournament. Weier led the team with seven aces. Schmidt had 35 assists.
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