Despite getting down two games to none, there was no quit in the Shawano Community High School volleyball team on senior night Thursday.
It could have been easy for the Hawks to fold in the third game, especially against the No. 4-ranked team in Division 2, Oconto Falls.
Shawano took a four-point lead, 20-16, but Oconto Falls came back, scoring nine of the final 10 points en route to a 25-21 win. That gave the Panthers a sweep after taking the first two games, 25-16, 25-10.
“I think (my girls) went in with a little bit of disbelief that maybe this wasn’t a match they could win,” Shawano coach Jean Wolff said. “But it was senior night, so there was pretty good energy.”
Wolff was proud of the way her players kept battling against the Panthers, who have been ranked in the top 10 all season by the Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association.
“To see them perform in that last set like they did shows me what they truly have,” Wolff said. “But they just need to believe. I told them that. If you’re going to peak, now’s a good time to peak at the end of the season.”
Wolff believes that if her team could have pulled off Game 3, the rest of the match might have turned out differently.
“You just never know. Volleyball is such a game of momentum that when you’ve got it, you’ve got to protect it with your life,” Wolff said. “They’re still learning that. We haven’t perfected that yet.”
The third game was back and forth. Oconto Falls led 16-15 when Shawano took the lead on an Alexis Dobberstein ace, and the Hawks increased their advantage to 20-16. The Panthers didn’t buckle and tied it at 20 after two McKayla Johnson aces. A service error gave the Hawks a one-point cushion, but Oconto Falls scored the final five points.
“These kids love a challenge, and the last game we scored nine points to their one, that’s phenomenal,” Oconto Falls coach Dawn Larsen said.
Shawano had a tough night trying to stop Oconto Falls’ top two players, McKenna Larsen and Carly Lemke. Larsen finished with 11 kills and Lemke had 15.
“We had to make some adjustments, but we actually had three or four blocks on McKenna. I was very proud of them for that,” Wolff said. “When they finally listened to the adjustment I wanted them to make on Carly, they were getting good touches so that my defenders could get under the ball.”
Shawano (1-6 Bay Conference) jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the first game before Oconto Falls (7-0 Bay) went up 17-9. The Panthers didn’t trail the rest of the way, taking the opener, 25-16.
Letting the early lead slip away was critical in Oconto Falls stealing the momentum.
“I don’t think Oconto Falls did much to us, we had four errors in a row,” Wolff said. “It was our fault and the girls know that. … If you take away our errors and play a little bit more consistent, which is a big focus of ours during practice, then we’re in the match — like we were in the third set.”
In Game 2, Oconto Falls was relentless in grabbing an 11-1 advantage. It ballooned to a 17-3 lead for the Panthers, and the Hawks couldn’t get any closer than double digits, 18-8, and fell 25-10.
Kayla Hokenstad finished the night with 12 attacks and four kills for Shawano, and Bella Gonzalez had eight attacks and four kills. Haley Going added 20 digs. Madison McBride tallied a team-high 29 assists, and Annelies Young chipped in 27.
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