Volleyball: Gillett secures three wins at Bonduel Invite

BONDUEL — The Gillett High School volleyball team got its season off to a fast start after earning three wins at the Bonduel Invite on Tuesday.

The Tigers, who were playing their first matches under new co-coaches Erin Buhrandt and Brooke Schaal, opened up play by dropping a match to eventual invite champion Crandon (25-21, 25-14).

Gillett responded by taking its final three matches, topping Suring (25-22, 25-19), Tigerton (25-19, 25-19) and Bonduel (26-24, 25-16).

“We started off slow, but once the team got going it was hard to stop them,” Buhrandt said. “Overall, the team played really well together. Just touching up on some fundamental skills and we should be looking good for the season.”

Against Crandon, junior Karissa Schaal led Gillett with six kills and 10 digs. Junior Aubrey DeBauch had four kills, while seniors Grace Wickman and Sophie Horsens each had three.

Senior Annie Kohls led the team with 14 digs, while Sophie Horsens had eight and junior Emily Umentum six.

In the victory over Suring, Schaal led the Tigers with five kills and also had four digs. Sophie Horsens added three kills, served three aces and led the team with nine digs.

“We learned how to communicate better and what players work best with each other to make the best decisions in the game,” Sophie Horsens said on what the team learned about itself from the invite. “Something that didn’t go well for our team (that) I noticed was, during our first game against Crandon, to keep our heads up and keep up the hype so we can play to the best of our abilities.”

In the win over Tigerton, junior Abby Peterson finished with a team-high four kills, while Kohls served four aces and added four digs.

Several Tigers stuffed the stat sheet in the tight win over Bonduel.

Schaal led the way with seven kills and four digs, while Wickman tallied four kills. Junior Emelie Horsens and Sophie Horsens each added three kills.

Kohls recorded a team-high 11 digs, with Sophie Horsens and DeBauch adding four digs each.

The 3-1 start to the season should work as a nice confidence boost moving forward for Gillett.

“What I learned about the team is that we just need to communicate more and that when we put our minds to what we want that we can achieve it,” said Wickman. “Also that we can accomplish any task that comes our way as long as we keep a positive mindset.”

“I think the way we played last night should really help us with the future of the season because it helped us find our inner self as a team,” said Schaal. “We found out what we are capable of.”

Suring was unable to earn a win at the invite. In its other matches, the Eagles were topped by Bonduel (25-22, 22-25, 15-11), Tigerton (16-25, 25-9, 15-11) and Crandon (25-12, 25-16).

Across the four matches, senior Jaden Bubolz led the team with six attack kills and served six aces. She also tallied 18 digs.

Junior Paige Krueger led the Eagles with 22 digs, while sophomore Kate Mahoney had 14 digs and six assists.

Junior Grace Fischer finished with 13 digs, while junior Cher Whiting had nine digs and eight assists. Senior Stephanie Huth totaled four attack kills and two aces, while senior Maddy School had 10 digs.

“I think that the most positive aspect that we can take away from the tournament is the fact that we have a lot of girls that can play multiple positions on the court,” said Bubolz. “We saw a lot of people switching positions during the tournament so that is reassuring for the upcoming season.”

Gillett will battle Crivitz and St. Thomas Aquinas Academy at a triangular on Thursday. Suring will also compete in a triangular Thursday, taking on Lena and Oneida Nation.

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