Prentice gets sweep in Marawood opener

The Rib Lake volleyball team showed some spark, especially in the second set, but it wasn’t enough to hang with visiting Prentice Tuesday on opening night in the Marawood Conference.

The Buccaneers earned a 3-0 sweep of the neighboring rivals, taking the games 25-11, 25-14 and 25-5.

Rib Lake head coach Barb Anderson said the Lady Redmen came out with some nerves, which wasn’t unexpected, and took a little time to get settled in. Once they did get settled in, there were some positives to build from.

“We started out slowly and had diffi culty handling their serve,” she said. “We need to be able to pass the ball to start our offense. After the first game we came out with some more confidence. Unfortunately Prentice did too. We hustled throughout the whole game. We had some great hits and saves.”

Anderson said struggles with serve receive were Rib Lake’s main issue in game three.

Rib Lake’s lone senior, Nellie Hopkins, led the team with three kills and added an assist and two digs. Tia Bube had two kills, two blocks and two digs. Emily Rodman had two kills and Emma Winter had one. Molly Heiser had a teamhigh four assists, while Kyla Kennedy had three and Josie Scheithauer had one. Kennedy had a team-high four digs.

“We know what needs to be worked on and practiced,” Anderson said. “We need to work on the good things that happened and make more of those things Opener

happen. We know we have a short season and have to make changes and adjustments on the court.

“Give Prentice credit,” she added. “They were able to get games in during August and it showed. We just need the touches and we will be fine.”

Rib Lake gets another big challenge tonight, Thursday, when it visits Newman Catholic, a program that has advanced to the WIAA Division 4 state tournament the last nine years. Newman was swept in its opener at defending Marawood South champion Stratford on Tuesday. Rib Lake goes to Phillips Tuesday before hosting Marathon on Sept. 24.