Gillett volleyball team taking away positives from tough loss

The Gillett Secondary School volleyball team suffered a tough 25-12, 21-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-6 Marinette & Oconto Conference loss to Oneida Nation on Sept. 30 in Gillett, but the Tigers left the court with plenty of positives.

Gillett had struggled recently with communication on the court, and continued to do so in the first set. Oneida Nation used an early 6-0 run to take control of the set and never looked back.

Gillett coach Jill Halla credited the team’s defensive play for helping turn the match around. Like the flip of a switch, the Tigers’ defense started playing really well in the second set and continued it the rest of the match.

“I think they turned the fan off, so then they could hear each other talking. Kind of, honestly,” said Halla while laughing. “The talking was the big thing. We haven’t been doing that in the last whatever games and trusting our players and I think they did that tonight.”

Oneida Nation jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in set two before Gillett rattled off four straight points as senior Katilynn Dodge served. The teams then traded the next few points before senior Joslyn Sexton served a couple of aces on a 4-0 Tigers’ run.

Gillett kept the momentum on its side and fended off a couple of Oneida Nation runs the rest of the set, and the Tigers never relinquished the lead. Junior Madyson VanHaren served two aces before Dodge delivered back-to-back kills to help the hosts regain a five-point lead after the visitors had tied it.

“I think it was just that we really started to communicate a lot more, started covering each other,” said VanHaren of the team’s improved play after the first set. “We started really to play more as a team instead of one person on the court versus the opposing team, we started to come together.”

Gillett continued its strong defensive play in the third set and was able to match Oneida Nation point for point. The visiting Thunderhawks looked to have gained control after a quick 3-0 run made it 17-14, but the Tigers took the next four points and eight of the next nine to go up 22-18. Dodge and senior Meredith Hansen each scored multiple points for Gillett on the run, while Dodge served an ace.

Just when it looked like Gillett had control, Oneida Nation scored the next six points. Gillett got back within a point after an attack error from the visitors, but the Thunderhawks took the next point to claim the set.

Again, Gillett had an answer. This time, the Tigers opened the fourth set on a 6-0 run to take control. Junior Halle Fisher served a couple aces during the run, with VanHaren also earning her team a point.

Oneida Nation eventually crept back to within a point, but more strong defense helped the Tigers claim the set. Fisher had a highlight reel diving save that turned into a point for Gillett before Dodge served two more aces and senior Naomi Anker and junior Grace Baer had critical kills.

As is the case in fifth sets that only go to 15 points, whatever team starts fastest typically comes out on top. Dodge delivered another kill for the Tigers early in the set, but it was the Thunderhawks that worked out to a 9-2 lead. Baer and Fisher earned points for the Tigers on a 3-0 run that made it a four-point deficit, but Oneida Nation took the next four points to pull away.

Despite the tough finish, Gillett left the court feeling good.

“We were more talkative, and again, we acted more as a team,” said Dodge on some of the positives the team took away from the match. “We had a lot of good hits. We were good on our feet too, we moved quick and all that and had some good digs and didn’t give up.”

“We worked together well,” added Fisher. “We really used all of our experience and talent, we put those together and just worked together.”

Dodge led Gillett with eight attack kills, while Fisher had five and Anker and VanHaren had three each. Fisher had a team-high 10 assists, while Sexton added five.

Dodge also led the Tigers with 13 digs, while Anker tallied 11 and Baer 10. Fisher had eight digs.

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