The Prescott Cardinals volleyball team improved its overall record to 11-11 and its conference record to 1-1 after the Cardinals defeated the Ellsworth Panthers in three consecutive sets at home on Thursday, Sept. 23.

Entering the game, the Cardinals had a 0-1 conference record and a losing record for the season. That all changed when Prescott played in front of a packed home crowd and a loud student section that got the players fired up.

The emotion was evident in the first set. The Cardinals got out to a quick start, taking an 8-1 lead over the Panthers. Most of the points were scored on kills by sophomore Reese Ptacek. Her height and athletic ability were on full display against a smaller Ellsworth roster. Ptacek’s dominance set the tone for the set and the entire series. The Cardinals won the first set 25-17 to take a 1-0 series lead. After the match, Cardinals head coach Geoffrey Snyder spoke about Ptacek’s talent.

“Most of the time, she is our hot-hand, she’s extremely versatile and is just a solid all-around player. We are lucky to have a player like her,” Snyder said. “She’s still got growth to do though. She’s not super comfortable passing in the back row, that’s something new to her. She is still making errors that a young player makes, so she has room to grow and get even better.”

Ellsworth was the team that got out to a better start at the beginning of the second set. The Panthers took a 4-1 lead and began looking like their offense was getting into a rhythm. That’s when Ptacek and the rest of the Prescott roster went on a scoring run that gave the Cardinals a 13-7 lead that forced a Panthers timeout.

Coming out of the timeout the Prescott offense continued to roll. The Cardinals took a 19-9 lead, forcing another Ellsworth timeout. The final score of the second set was a 25-11 victory for Prescott, giving the Cardinals a 2-0 lead in the best of five series.

The third set was more Prescott offensive dominance. Ptacek continued an impressive night, with support from the rest of the roster, especially senior Madison Matzek, who is one of the most experienced players on the floor. Their efforts contributed to a 25-13 win for the Cardinals, sweeping the Panthers and getting back to .500 on the season in Middle Border Conference play. Snyder spoke about how important Matzek is on the floor both as a player and as a leader.

“She is our leader, she is our heart and soul,” Snyder said. “She’s out there talking; I hear her yelling on every single play. She’s always motivating other players. She is always out there leading by example.”

Snyder also spoke about the victory at home and what it’s like to play in a competitive conference.

“This is our second conference game, we played Saint Croix Central and lost,” Snyder said. “Both of our conference games so far, it’s just a completely different energy and fight. Both teams know the stakes and they want to go out there and compete. It’s really fun to be a part of the Middle Border Conference atmosphere.”

The next match on the schedule for the Prescott Cardinals is on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. at Somerset High School.

Spring Valley defeats Boyceville 3-0 in Dunn-St. Croix Conference matchup

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the Spring Valley Cardinals won its second conference match of the season at home against a visiting Boyceville team.

The 3-0 sweep for the Cardinals was a complete display of dominance from beginning to end. In the first set, Spring Valley got out to a lead and was able to successfully defend against small scoring runs made by Boyceville to try to get back into the set. The Spring Valley lead was too substantial. The Cardinals won the first set 25-17 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

The second set was even more dominant for Spring Valley. The offense was explosive, and the defense was set up in position throughout the match. Playing both sides of the ball successfully helped propel the Cardinals to a 25-9 victory in the second set.

Perhaps much of the dominance could be attributed to the Charli Vanasse and Mara Ducklow of the Cardinals. Vanasse had nine kills on 15 attempts and Ducklow had seven kills on 13 attempts. The next closest in kills behind those two was Tyra Johnson with four.

The success of the outside hitters translated to the third set as well. In the third set, the Cardinals’ outside hitters continued to pound volleyballs into Boyceville defenders which again opened up a lead for the Cardinals. Spring Valley was able to retain the lead for the remainder of the set to win 25-17. The third set victory meant that Spring Valley had swept Boyceville 3-0 to claim its second conference victory of the season.

The Cardinals are now 2-1 this season in Dunn-St. Croix Conference play and are in fourth place in the conference standings. The next game for Spring Valley is on Thursday, Sept. 30, on the road against Colfax. That game is slated to get underway at 7 p.m.

Plum City/Elmwood volleyball remains undefeated in conference play

The Plum City/Elmwood volleyball team, under the direction of coach Amanda Webb, improved to 3-0 in conference play after they defeated Glenwood City 3-1 on the road on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

The first set was a promising showing for Plum City/Elmwood. They got out to a quick lead that was too much for Glenwood City to overcome. The first set went to Plum/City/Elmwood 25-13 to give them a 1-0 lead in the conference match series.

The second set was more of the same for Plum City/Elmwood. They got out to another lead and took care of business. Many of the points were scored by Maggie Glaus, who led the team in kills with 13 for the entire series, as well as Hannah Forster, who had 11 kills on 19 attempts. Combined, they accounted for more than half of the team’s kills for the series. The final score of the second set was a 25-15 victory for Plum City/Elmwood, giving them a 2-0 lead in the series.

The third set was a bounce-back effort for Glenwood City. Both teams were trading points and small scoring runs for a majority of the match. Glenwood City managed to pull away at the end to secure a 26-24 victory, making the series 2-1 in favor of Plum City/Elmwood.

In the fourth set, Glenwood City tried to force a fifth, winnertake- all set. That wasn’t to be, as Plum City/Elmwood got out to a small lead and maintained it for the majority of the fourth set. A late comeback push by Glenwood City fell short. Plum City/Elmwood won 25-19, also winning the series 3-1 to remain perfect in conference play for the season.

The next match for Plum City/Elmwood is on Thursday, Sept. 30, at home against Durand. That match is scheduled to get started at 7 p.m.

Reese Ptacek of the Prescott Cardinals getting into position while Ellsworth gets set to serve. Ptacek dominated the match, leading the team in kills for the night. Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Freshman Natalie Ptacek of the Prescott Cardinals tosses the ball into the air before she hits it over the net for her serve. Natalie and her sister Reese Ptacek served as the driving force in the 3-0 sweep of Ellsworth on Thursday night.Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Sophomore Ava Brookshaw of the Ellsworth Panthers serving the ball against the Prescott Cardinals. Photo by Reagan Hoverman