The Bonduel High School girls volleyball team has been inconsistent at times throughout this season leading up to its WIAA Division 3 regional quarterfinal match on Tuesday against Crandon.
The second-seeded Bears (16-16) overcame inconsistencies throughout the match, recording a 25-22, 25-9, 25-20 sweep of seventh-seeded Crandon (7-9).
After jumping out to a 6-0 advantage in the first game with the help of senior setter Miranda Schmidt’s strong serves, the Bears let the Cardinals back into the match as a 7-1 run tied the game.
Bonduel was again able to open up the game, 16-12, before Crandon made another run to pull the game even at 21.
After the team’s exchanged errors, Bonduel senior Hayley Pues finished the game with a kill.
The start of the second set was much of the same, with the Bears controlling the momentum and taking a commanding lead, including two more aces by Schmidt and a six-point serving run by Pues to extend the lead to 14 at 22-8.
Inconsistent play showed up in the third set, though, with Bonduel losing some focus, according to Bonduel head coach Kim Bodoh.
Crandon, with seven seniors on the roster, did not want to go down without a fight.
“They just really needed to refocus on the game and not let their errors pull them down,” Crandon head coach Tami Sprenger said. “They have just played together a long time and they really wanted to finish strong, and I do think they did that.”
With the Bears losing 12-9, play was stopped after setter Morgan Dunst injured her knee just a few points after replacing sophomore Brynn Reinke.
“I just tried to take their mind of their teammate and friend, and let the people that know how to take care of her, take care of her,” Bodoh said about keeping the girls focused after the injury.
From there, Bonduel, led by Pues and Taylor Weier, battled back and took the lead at 21-20 after an ace by Weier.
Schmidt led the Bears with 21 assists and three aces, while Pues tallied 11 kills. Junior libero Danee Collier added nine digs.
Senior Erin Howerton led the Cardinals with eight assists. Senior Anike Sulaimon finished the game with 11 digs.
Weier finished out the game with another ace, her second of the night, pushing the Bears into the regional semifinal against Laona-Wabeno (16-4), which won its match in straight sets over Crivitz, on Thursday at home.
“For them to finally put it away in three games was a relief,” Bodoh said. “Obviously, as a coach, I see all the things we have to improve on before Thursday, but they showed their dedication, they showed that they’re not a team to be taken lightly, and I think that will give them some confidence going into Thursday’s match.”
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