Middle Border and Dunn-St. Croix Conference volleyball teams are about to dive into conference play, and the closing weeks of non-conference action were stuffed with quads and tournaments.

Spring Valley

The Cardinals boast a 12-3 non-conference record, competing in five quads thus far.

“We’ve played in five quads since the beginning of the season. Just some small wins. A lot of growth, a lot of learning,” Head Coach Kelli Schlegel said. “Just getting the experience to get ready for conference.”

Returning all-conference junior hitter Katie Matthys and sophomore all-conference former libero, now setter, Kemri Schlegel has made the development of team chemistry significantly easier. With surrounding athleticism from players like Jada Hoolihan, Amelia Brunner, Riley Zimmerman and sophomore libero Taylor Glaus, the Cardinals are a well-rounded team.

“It’s been very helpful. I have two young all-conference players,” Schlegel said. “[Matthys] is just a leader in all aspects of the game. Kemri Schlegel is returning all-conference in a different position. Last year she was a libero as a freshman, and this year she will be my five-one setter. Just having her lead, she’s got a lot of experience in that position, and it’s been helpful.”

The Dunn-St. Croix season always lives up to the hype, and Coach Schlegel knows no wins will come easy. In order to win, the Cardinals will need to play clean from set to set.

“Our word of the season is ‘consistency.’ Just staying consistent with every team that we play and playing to our level each and every time,” Schlegel said.

Ellsworth

The Panthers closed out the non-conference season with a packed slate, playing a match at Rice Lake on Sept. 8, playing a handful of matches, including a 2-0 win over Glenwood City, in Elk Mound on Sept. 10 and playing in the Elmwood/Plum City tournament over the weekend where the Panthers secured a 2-0 win over Luck.

“From the beginning of the season to where we’re at now, I do feel that we’ve seen a lot of growth out of a lot of our players. Some of them are playing positions that they’ve never played in the past for us, and their willingness to try those new things for the betterment of the group of people that we have now and the betterment of the team is reassuring,” Head Coach Kayla Klecker said. “I wish we had a couple more wins under our belt, but the feeling that I have in my gut is that those things are coming… We’re doing what we need to do in order to get there, and we’ve tasted it a couple of times. The hunger for finishing through and solidifying that win is there.”

Ellsworth is a team made up of seniors and juniors. Klecker said the foundation was already set into place during their previous high school years. Now, the team can focus solely on pushing to new heights.

“The seasonedness of them being older and a part of the program for a longer period of time, I don’t have to coach them to my expectations. They know what that is. We get to move past that part very quickly and dive into some higher-level things that we can take care of sooner in the season versus later,” Klecker said.

Ellsworth has picked up some wins along the way, but Klecker wants to see the mental side of the game perfected to make the conference slate a winning one.

“I want us to have consistent confidence and resiliency. A lot of times we see pockets of those two characteristics come and go, and when they’re gone, we do see a dip in our performance,” Klecker said. “When we have confidence when we’re winning and when we have resiliency when we’re losing, it allows us to be a well-rounded team.”

Prescott

Prescott had the size advantage and made it count, something the Cardinals will need to continue into conference play to string together wins. Seniors Delaney Nelson and Karlee Wall played a role in that blocking success against the Wolves, as well as freshman Zoe Ptacek. Third and final senior Grace Ptacek, one of Prescott’s go-tos for kills, provides a lot of height on the outside as well.

The Cardinals also rely on good touches from junior libero Makayla Johnson and sophomore setter Ella Pechacek to set up a list of talented hitters that the Cardinals have including Grace Ptacek and Emilyn Ennenga.

Another notable game for the Cardinals came against Baldwin-Woodville. It was a non-conference meeting even though the two teams will later face off in conference, but the Cardinals hung around, losing a 2-1 battle (22-25, 25-13, 5-15) back on Sept. 3. The Blackhawks have played a ton of matches in the early season and won some big ones, including a 2-0 win over another Middle Border Conference team in Ellsworth. That three-set matchup could be a measuring stick for where Prescott stands in conference play and shines a light on what can be improved upon.

Ellsworth and Prescott will compete in Ellsworth on Sept. 24 for an early conference season matchup.