Heights spikers fourth at own invite

They wanted more. And who could blame them. Wisconsin Heights’ girls volleyball team settled for fourth place at its own invite last Saturday. The Vanguards reached the semifinals, but lost to Dodgeville, 25-23, 25-21. “It was tough to watch two other teams play in the championship at our own tournament,” Heights coach Kala O’Connell said. “But hopefully they can take that feeling into the next few weeks and have a better outcome.” The Vanguards opened their tournament with a 25-14, 25-19 win over Lancaster. Ashlee Adler had five aces and eight kills, while Jada Wood had 11 assists, two aces and two kills. Raegan Doherty had eight aces, two kills and two assists, while Kylee Doherty had five kills and two assists. Riley Lynch added two kills and Emily VanRiper had two digs. Heights followed that with a 25-14, 25-19 win over Potosi. Adler had five kills and two aces, while Raegan Doherty had seven kills, five aces and two assists. Kelsi Handel had three kills, Kylee Doherty added five aces, two kills and two assists, and Van Riper had three digs. Brodhead, which went on to win the tournament, then toppled Heights, 25-23, 25-13. Adler led the way with 10 kills and four aces, while Wood had 18 assists. Handel had four kills, Raegan Doherty had two kills and two assists, Kylee Doherty had four kills, Lynch had two kills and Van Riper added four digs. “I was disappointed in the Brodhead loss because we barely lost the first set and then couldn’t get anything together in the second set,” O’Connell said. “Everything was clicking at the beginning of the first set. “We were playing so well together. We will work on consistency to keep everything clicking that well so we don’t fall behind again like we did.” Heights then fell to Dodgeville in the semifinals, 25-23, 25-21. Adler had seven kills and two aces, while Wood had 19 assists and four kills. Handel added four kills, Raegan Doherty had six kills and four assists, Kylee Doherty had six kills, Lynch had four kills and VanRiper had five digs. “Brodhead won the tournament and there is a chance we could see them in the postseason, so we’ll be looking for payback,” O’Connell said. Heights also defeated Marshall, 25-20, 23-25, 25-14, 25-17, last Tuesday. Adler had 11 kills and three aces, while Handel had six blocks, three kills and two assists. Wood had four aces, three kills and 26 assists, Raegan Doherty had four kills, three blocks and two assists, Kylee Doherty had 10 kills and four blocks, Lynch had seven kills and two blocks and Van Riper had 11 digs. After splitting the first two sets, the Vanguards weren’t happy and found another gear down the stretch. “The girls were not happy about losing like that and they came out strong in the third set,” O’Connell said. “I was very happy to see the girls come back and win the third set pretty easily after barely losing the second set.” WISCONSIN HEIGHTS INVITATIONAL Championship: Brodhead def. Dodgeville, 25-15, 25-11. Semifinals: Brodhead def. Kenosha Bradford, 25-11, 25-15; Dodgeville def. Wisconsin Heights, 25-23, 25-21. Pool A: Brodhead 3-0; Wisconsin Heights 2-1; Patosi 1-2; Lancaster 0-3. Pool B: Dodgeville 3-0; Kenosha Bradford 2-1; Monroe 1-2; Cambridge 0-3. WISCONSIN HEIGHTS 3, MARSHALL 1 Marshall..................20 25 14 17 Heights....................25 23 25 25 MARSHALL (leaders) — Kills: Hellenbrand 9. Assists: Michalak 25. Blocks: Lutz 5. Aces: Hellenbrand 7. Digs: Kappes 23. WISCONSIN HEIGHTS — Kills: Adler 11. Assists: Wood 26. Blocks: Handel 6. Aces: Wood and Adler 3. Digs: Handel 24.