If the first set ends differently, the Oconto Falls High School volleyball team might have left its home opener with a victory.
However, trailing 24-22, West De Pere scored the last four points of the first set to steal the win. The Panthers were rattled the rest of the match and fell in three sets (26-24, 25-18, 25-22) Thursday night in Bay Conference action.
“Throughout the season we’ve been making our improvements, getting better, getting better,” Oconto Falls first-year coach Rochell Otto said. “Unfortunately, tonight I think we went backward.”
Oconto Falls (3-11, 0-2 Bay Conference) showed its youth and inexperience in many ways in its second conference match of the season. Senior-laden West De Pere took advantage of the Panthers’ 28 unforced errors.
“I just believe that we’re better than what we showed tonight,” Otto said. “We just can’t put a zillion balls out of bounds.”
West De Pere (8-1, 1-0 Bay) figures to be in the conversation for the Bay Conference title.
“Oconto Falls is a scrappy team and they get a lot of good touches on the balls, and they made us fight for every point,” West De Pere coach Tony Larocca said.
Larocca knew Oconto Falls is young this season after losing two powerful multi-year starters in McKenna Larsen and Carly Lemke. He wanted to attack the Panthers.
“We tried to spread the ball around a little bit,” Larocca said. “Defensively, we kept them out of system, so a lot of balls were going to their outside hitter. We were actually able to get a triple block up there in the second half of the last game, and it helped our defense out.”
In the first set, Kayla Virtues notched Oconto Falls’ third ace of the match to tie the score at 9. The Panthers slowly crept ahead 19-16 and sat on game point at 24-22. However, that’s when errors cost Oconto Falls, and West De Pere calmly scored the set’s final four points.
“It gave us a lot of momentum,” Larocca said. “It helps take the crowd out of the game.”
The first-set loss was devastating for the Oconto Falls players.
“We came back so flat the second game,” Otto said. “We’ve got to learn to have a short memory. You’ve got to shake that off and come back, be ready to play and not give them the lead.”
West De Pere led the second game 7-1 and an ace pushed its advantage to 18-12. Oconto Falls got within five points, but the Phantoms closed out the set 25-18.
In Game 3, Oconto Falls took a 13-11 lead, but that didn’t last as West De Pere scored six of the next seven points to go up 17-14. With the Phantoms holding a 24-19 cushion, the Panthers scored the next three points as Alyssa Nelson notched a kill. However, West De Pere ended it with match point.
“We gave them too much of a lead and we tried to fight back, but unfortunately it was a little bit too late,” Otto said.
Emily Kilmer had a team-high 14 kills for Oconto Falls. Nelson, who had three aces, and Virtues had seven kills apiece. McKayla Johnson tallied 29 digs, and Mikaela Thomson added 29 assists.
Heather Kocken had a big night for West De Pere with 12 kills and 12 digs. Mali Jereczek added 30 assists.
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