BALDWIN — Spring Valley volleyball capped off a busy week of matches with a quad in Baldwin on Thursday, taking on Baldwin-Woodville, Clear Lake and Spooner.

The Cards got a 2-0 win over Spooner but lost 2-1 to Baldwin-Woodville and 2-0 to Clear Lake.

“Baldwin was definitely a lot bigger than us as far as height goes. We struggled in that first match against them in our communication and serve receive,” Head Coach Kelli Schlegel said.

Schlegel said they felt like they missed an opportunity in that one, but it motivated them the rest of the way. They toyed with some new lineups to split the final two matches.

Earlier in the week, Spring Valley took on a quad in Barron, beating Chetek-Weyerhaeuser 2-0 and losing 2-0 to Saint Croix Central and Barron.

While the two quads did not exactly go Spring Valley’s way, the Cardinals played great in the early season, starting 7-2 against both larger schools as well as conference schools. Spring Valley defeated Dunn-St. Croix squads in Boyceville (25-22, 25-11) and Elk Mound (25-20, 25-21).

Spring Valley has simply played a lot of matches this season. They added a pair of quads to their schedule as Schlegel prefers the learning experiences of quads to tournaments.
“We have a pretty small squad. I only have nine girls that are on varsity full time that are healthy at the moment,” Schlegel said. “You don’t want to wear these kids out and risk any injuries by playing and sitting all day long.”

They have played teams two and three divisions above them through quads, and the three consecutive matches is better in terms of wear and tear.

The team is full of juniors and seniors who were in high school for the team’s 2023 Dunn-St. Croix Conference championship. While they may not have all been on the varsity squad for the season, that experience and practicing against a lot of those players makes a difference.

Spring Valley takes on Ellsworth Sept. 16. Conference play begins Sept. 23 when the Cardinals host Mondovi. From there, Spring Valley will go through a schedule of eight conference opponents ending in a matchup at Glenwood City on Oct. 16.

“It’s just going to be that consistent play from passing to setting to serving,” Schlegel said. “We’ve struggled a little bit in those areas, so seeing them be consistent from match to match no matter who we’re playing is going to be important.”

Seniors Ella Peterson, Evah Butts, Addison Nelson, Reese Vivoda, Ella Stangl and Addison Neidermyer will need to lead the way. Four-year starter Stangl has been a team leader for a long time, and Schlegel said ahead of the season she motivates the rest of the team to take on leadership roles of their own.