Heights fares well at Middleton Invite

Wisconsin Heights’ girls volleyball team has always challenged itself against elite competition in star-studded tournaments. This year has been no different, and last Saturday the Vanguards went to the 17-team Middleton Invite. Heights finished second in its pool and moved into the quarterfinals. There, the Vanguards fell to eventual tournament champion Verona in two sets. “Overall, the tournament was good,” Heights first year Kala O’Connell said. “It would have been nice to have one more win on our record, but there were plenty of good things to take away from it. “We had way fewer missed serves than past tournaments, but still kept them tough. I was so proud of how the girls kept their head in the game when we had to make line-up adjustments and just rolled with it. It’s a great group of young ladies and I’m really enjoying working with them this season.” Heights opened with a 25-20, 25-23 win over Stoughton. Raegan Doherty had five kills, while Jada Wood had four kills and 18 assists. Kylee Doherty had four kills, Kelsi Handel had five assists and three kills, Riley Lynch had eight kills and three aces, and Olivia Buol had four kills. The Vanguards played without standout outside hitter Ashlee Adler, who was nursing a sprained ankle. “Ashlee isn’t at 100% yet so we weren’t going to use her if we didn’t need to,” O’Connell said. “The girls played really well against Stoughton.” Madison Memorial then defeated Heights, 25-21, 25-19. Wood had nine assists, three kills and two aces, while Handel had five kills and two assists. Raegan Doherty had two kills and two blocks, Kylee Doherty had two kills and Daryn Schaefer had two kills. “During the Stoughton match, Riley Lynch dove for a ball and hurt her wrist,” O’Connell said. “She saw the trainer in between matches and the trainer suggested she go to urgent care for a possible fracture. We did some switching around and moved Raegan to the middle and put Daryn Schaefer on the rightside. “We weren’t playing our best volleyball and it could have been a little case of frazzled nerves, but the girls played OK considering we had made a lot of adjustments. Riley came back with a splint and a sprained wrist, but the recovery should be quick.” Heights then toppled Cuba City — a postseason nemesis — 25-20, 25-17. Adler returned and had four kills, while Wood had 17 assists and three kills. Handel had five kills and two aces, Kylee Doherty had 10 kills and Raegan Doherty added three kills. “Cuba City was a great win for us,” O’Connell said. “They’re always a rival and they’re always in our sectional. We knew we needed this win for seeding purposes come tournament time. “We decided Ashlee could be beneficial in this match, so we taped her up really well and put her in the lineup. We had a backup plan if she was in pain and just made some adjustments to how she would approach and serve. “The girls were excited about this win. They knew how important it was and they know the rival history with Cuba City. It was a good win.” That left Heights at 2-1 and in second place in its pool. The Vanguards then met Verona in the quarterfinals and the Wildcats rolled to a 25-14, 25-14 win. Adler finished with five kills, while Wood had 11 assists. Handel had three kills and two blocks, and both Kylee Doherty and Raegan Doherty had two kills. “Ashlee was feeling OK so we decided to use her against Verona,” O’Connell said. “Verona is a good team and we just weren’t a good match for them. We played down and made some mental errors. “A struggle at tournaments is having different refs throughout the day. When we were in pool play, the refs we had were calling everything, no matter how small and when we went to play Verona, the refs hardly called anything. “I’m not blaming a loss on the officiating, it’s just hard to adjust to that sometimes. The play got kind of ugly at times and the officials let it play out. It gets frustrating.” Heights also notched an impressive 25-22, 25-15, 25-22 win over Belleville last Tuesday. Adler had four kills and three aces, while Wood had 19 assists, five kills and three aces. Handel had six aces, two kills, two blocks and four assists, while Kylee Doherty added eight kills, four assists and two aces. Raegan Doherty had six kills, three assists and four aces and Riley Lynch had two aces and two blocks. The Vanguards survived without senior defensive specialist Liz Strait (hip) and Adler, who sprained her ankle in the third set. “Freshman Emily VanRiper played in (Strait’s) place,” O’Connell said. “And we rely on Ashlee for a lot and it was great to see others step in, work together, and get the win. I was so proud of all the girls, especially the seniors who took charge and got the job done.” Sept. 17 WISCONSIN HEIGHTS 3, BELLEVILLE 0 Belleville ............................. 22 15 22 Wisconsin Heights ............. 25 25 25 Belleville (leaders) — Kills: B. Everson 9. Assists: Kittleston 19. Blocks: B. Everson and C. Everson 1. Aces: Shrader 1. Digs: Foley 12. Wisconsin Heights — Kills: K. Doherty 8. Assists: Wood 19. Blocks: Lynch and R. Doherty. Aces: Handel 6. Digs: Handel 14. Sept. 21 MIDDLETON INVITATIONAL Championship: Verona def. Madison Edgewood, 25-16, 25-16. Verona leaders — Kills: McIntosh 6, Touchett 6; Aces: Bobb 3; Digs: Hust 9, Bobb 9; Assists: Armstrong 17. Semifinals: Verona def. Platteville, 25-21, 25-20. Verona leaders — Kills: Touchett 7; Aces: McIntosh 4; Digs: McIntosh 5; Assists: Armstrong 25. Verona: Def. Wisconsin Heights, 25-14, 25-14; def. Madison Edgewood, 25-12, 25-16; def. Holmen, 25-20, 25-23. Stoughton: Lost to Wisconsin Heights, 20-25, 23-25; lost to Cuba City, 29-31, 11-25; lost to Madison Memorial, 13-25, 15-25; def. Evansville, 25-16, 25-17. Pool A: Platteville 4-0, Middleton 3-1, Mount Horeb 2-2, Evansville 1-3, Oregon 0-4. Pool B: Germantown 3-0, Jefferson 2-1, Sauk Prairie 1-2, Madison West 0-3. Pool C: Madison Memorial 3-0, Wisconsin Heights 2-1, Cuba City 1-2, Stoughton 0-3. Pool D: Verona 3-0, Madison East 2-1, Holmen 1-2, Monticello 0-3.