The Prescott Cardinals volleyball team has been staying busy throughout the last week. Head coach Geoffrey Snyder’s squad has played seven matches in the last few days which included four wins and three losses in conference play and at the Amery Invitational.

The first game on the schedule for the Cardinals was on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at home against the Amery Warriors. It was the second consecutive Middle Border Conference matchup for Prescott, following the Sept. 23 sweep against the Ellsworth Panthers.

The first set between Prescott and Amery on Thursday night began as a battle. Both teams were hustling hard for points, which were coming at a premium because of the tough defense to start the first set. At various points of the first set, the score was tied at three, six, seven, eight and nine.

After that, Prescott began to gain a small lead that was 18-15. Sophomore Reese Ptacek was back to serve and found a weak spot in the defense that resulted in a Prescott ace to take a 19-15 lead. The home crowd erupted, and the Cardinals received a boost of momentum. Minutes later the Cardinals were able to hold off a scoring run by the Warriors to win the set 25-22.

The second set was Prescott’s best effort of the night. Snyder’s roster got out to a great start and carried an early 12-5 lead to the end of the second set which resulted in a 25-12 victory for the Cardinals to take a 2-0 lead in the best of five series.

Mistakes in the third set by the Cardinals prevented a potential sweep against the Amery Warriors. Miscues on passes and serves into the net propelled Amery to a third set victory 25-20 to make the series a 2-1 advantage for Prescott.

By the time the fourth set began, Prescott was back into its regular form and jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead. Despite many small scoring runs, the Cardinals played a quality fourth set and won 25-17 to take the series 3-1. The win was Prescott’s fourth consecutive and was the second straight conference victory. Coach Snyder reflected on how his team played.

“It was actually kind of a slow night; we didn’t bring the same fire that we’ve brought before against Ellsworth and Saint Croix Central,” Snyder said after the win. “We talked about it in the huddle and we managed to turn it on. You don’t get a night off in the (Middle Border) Conference.”

Snyder also spoke about watching his team bounce back from adversity like when they lost that third set against Amery. He also talked about how the win impacts his team moving forward.

“When there are ups and downs with a young team, when you get a down, it’s down,” Snyder said. “It’s fun and it’s good that we bounced back. That’s a good thing for me as a coach to see and I’m doing my best to make sure they have fun. Conferencewise, I feel like we’re gelling out there and I’m seeing a lot of development. That’s the fun part about a young team, we haven’t reached our ceiling and our growth is there every game.”

The win gave Prescott a 2-1 record in Middle Border Conference play before they traveled to Somerset High School on Thursday, Sept. 30, for a matchup with the Spartans. The match didn’t go in favor of Prescott, as the team struggled to overcome a strong Somerset offense.

The Cardinals won only one set before Somerset won its third to win the series 3-1. The loss for Prescott dropped their conference record to 2-2 whereas Somerset’s improved to 2-2 and is now tied for third place in the Middle Border Conference standings with only weeks left in the season.

As a young team, getting more repetitions is always going to be a benefit, especially if Snyder believes his team is getting better each time that they hit the floor. There was no better place for additional reps for Snyder’s team than at the Saturday, Oct. 2, Amery Invitational event.

The Cardinals played five games on Saturday. The first match was against Hayward, which the Cardinals won in two consecutive sets. Because it was an invitational, all series were played as a best of three. The first set was 25-20 and the second set was 2517.

The second match of the day was against the Siren Dragons. Similarly, Prescott took care of business in two sets and began the day 2-0 after a 25-17 victory in the first set and a 25-12 victory in the second set.

The third match and first loss of the morning was against the Unity Eagles. The first set was dominated by Unity, as they got out to an early lead which carried them to a 25-17 first set win. The second set was much closer. Both teams went on small scoring runs but the Unity offense was too much for Prescott to take as they lost 25-23.

Prescott’s next opponent was the Webster Tigers. Prescott won the first set 25-21 and the second set 25-16. The final match of the day was a rematch against the Unity Eagles. Unity again got the best of Prescott in two consecutive sets. The first was a 2515 loss for the Cardinals and the second set was a 25-23 loss.

Prescott’s overall record moves to 15-14 for the season, including a 2-2 record in Middle Border Conference play. The next match is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 7, at home against the Osceola Chieftains. That match is expected to start at 7 p.m.

Spring Valley Volleyball chasing Plum City/Elmwood in conference standings

As the high school volleyball season begins to reach the end of its regular season, local teams are either trying to hold onto a lead in the conference or they’re trying to chase down a team in first place.

The Spring Valley Cardinals, under the direction of head coach Kelli Schlegel, are currently 3-2 in Dunn-St. Croix Conference play for the 2021 season. That record has earned the Cardinals sole possession of second place in the conference standings. The only problem for Schlegel’s team is that there is a three-team tie for first place between Colfax, Elk Mound, and Elmwood/Plum City. All three of those teams have a 4-0 record that essentially makes the conference championship quest a three-team race.

Spring Valley had a good showing at the Amery Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 2. At the event, the Cardinals won three of their four games which included wins against Amery, Hayward and Siren. The lone loss was to Webster in three sets.

The momentum of winning three of four games at the Amery invitational could help Spring Valley make a push in its final three conference games of the season. The first game on that list is on Thursday, Oct. 7, at Mondovi High School. That match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Prescott senior Morgan Lundeen sets the volleyball for Reese Ptacek during the Cardinals’ game against the Warriors. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Cardinal freshman Natalie Ptacek begins her motion to serve the ball in front of a packed home crowd for a Middle Border Conference game against Amery. Photo by Reagan Hoverman