After the Bonduel High School girls volleyball team opened up a 7-point lead on host Gillett in the second game of its nonconference match Thursday night, the Tigers fought back.
Tough serving by senior setter Jessica Anderson and others created problems for the bigger hitters for Bonduel, which continued to attack despite shaky passing, which led to sets farther off the net.
Once Gillett tied the game at 21-21, Bonduel (13-11) found its rhythm. The Bears won the next four points and went on to control the entire third set for a 3-0 sweep, 25-22, 25-21, 25-17, during a cancer-fighting fundraiser night for both schools.
The Tigers had been working on improving their blocking, which was much needed against the Bears’ front line.
“We would switch it up between single and triple blocking,” Gillett head coach Keri Hicks said. “Really, our girls have improved on their blocking as the season has gone on, and I think that was a bigger factor than it has been. But they have bigger hitters, and that makes a difference, too.”
The clashing styles of play gave both teams trouble.
“Their drives over instead of big spikes on a hit really threw our defense out of whack,” Bonduel head coach Kimberly Bodoh said. “That really hurt us. The girls weren’t playing on their toes; they were back on their heels waiting for the hard-driven spikes, and that was not what was happening.”
The Tigers learned what it takes to play against a strong team, Hicks said, and compete point-for-point the majority of the match.
“They can play with some bigger players and do that in our conference — play at that level for a (Marinette & Oconto) conference match,” Hicks said.
Anderson finished the game with 14 assists and two aces for the Tigers. Senior Maya Breed, junior Victoria Loberger and sophomore Faith Sorlie each had six kills to lead Gillett. Loberger added two block kills.
Junior Kailee Pedersen led Bonduel with 12 digs. Taylor Weier had 10 kills, and Miranda Schmidt added 12 assists. Brynn Reinke, who went on a big serving streak to give the Bears a lead early in the second game, finished with five aces.
The outcome was not what Hicks wanted, but she appreciated the way her team competed.
“I was very impressed with the way they come out. Bonduel has got a good program,” Hicks said. “We’ve been up and down all season, so, would I have liked to have won those close ones? Yeah, but I was happy with them.”
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