Abby VB second at Trucker Invite
The 2021 edition of the Abbotsford Falcons varsity volleyball team won’t overwhelm you with size, but the Falcons proved over the weekend you don’t need height to win matches, and there’s a lot to be said for finesse and a great defense.
Abbotsford used both of those to great effect last week, winning four of their six matches at the Trucker Invitational in Clintonville on Saturday.
The Falcons stood tall to the task, overcoming their height disadvantage, and a shortage in numbers, to finish in second place at the Trucker Invite.
“We had to play solid ball all day,” Falcons head coach Lee Schreiber said. “We had a small group that day, and . . . the bench wasn’t very deep.”
The Falcons were forced to dig deep, playing six straight matches, making it to the final before falling to Ripon in a highly contested two set match.
“To put the girls through that kind of test of strength and durability, and to last all day? That was a lot of volleyball, but they handled it,” said Schreiber. “I was impressed that we made it out of there, and I was very excited how we played.”
The Falcons began the day with a tight, 25-19, 25-22 victory over Shawano. From there Abby bounced Valders 25-20 and 25-15. Abby faced a bigger test against Southern Door and St. Mary Catholic.
“A lot of height over there. Southern Door had some big girls, along with St. Mary Catholic and Ripon, who we played before,” Schreiber noted.
The Falcons fought Southern Door every step of the way, but struggled with serve receive late in the match, losing a heartbreaker, 23-25, 28-26 and 13-15.
Abby quickly regrouped in time to put forth some excellent volleyball, knocking off St. Mary Catholic 25-15, 18-25 and 1510, and topping Clintonville in two, 25-14, 25-18. Abbotsford’s victories sent them to the final, where they squared off with Ripon, but the long day gave Ripon an edge, and the Falcons fell 22-25, 19-25.
Olivia Hammel finished with 41 kills to go with 56 digs. Haylee Soyk added another 28 kills and 19 digs. Lydia Carlson recorded 27 kills and an impressive 60 digs. Sydney Falteisek turned in 19 kills and 29 digs. Stephany Espino stuffed the state sheet, finishing with seven kills, 24 digs, 56 assists, and a team high 13 aces.
Bridgett Pogodzinski did a bit of everything on Saturday, recording eight kills. 33 digs and 42 assists. Briseida Escalera added nine kills and seven digs. Adriana Fuentes put in a sensational defensive effort, recording a team high 76 digs.
The matches and effort bode well for the rest of the season, and Schreiber believes the Falcons can hang with any team, no matter their size or depth.
“We are in these games. Things just need to go a little bit our way, and we’ll be fine. When this team clicks, it’s probably one of the best that I’ve worked with.”
Colby,
The Falcons had an excellent prep match prior to participating in the Trucker Invite, taking the two mile trip to Colby on Thursday, Sept. 16. The Falcons were playing in packed gymnasium for the first time in over a year, as fans from both teams crammed the bleachers.
Colby grabbed the first set 25-18 with some well placed serves. The Falcons made adjustments on serve receive, and began to read the placement better.
Abby put more balls in play, drew errors and completely controlled the second set, taking it 25-9. The next set was a battle, and the match seemed to hinge on which team could take the third.
Colby got over their second set hangover, and earned points off their serves, but Abby’s defense, and shots up front, resulted in a 25-21 victory for the Falcons.
Now armed with a 2-1 lead, Abby began to swing freely, and never looked back, cruising to victory in the fourth set 25-10. Afterwards, Schreiber cited his younger players for stepping up as a key factor in the victory over Colby.
“The sophomores are doing things you don’t generally see a sophomore doing, “ Schreiber said. “It’s really nice to be able to count on the younger players because if you got them in your back pocket, you’re going to go places.”
3-0
The Falcons picked up where they left on Monday, Sept. 20, hosting the Augusta Beavers in a non-conference match, Abby took the first set 25-15, and raced through the rest, 25-10 and 25-7 to improve their season record to 12-6.
Lydia Carlson tallied ten kills and 15 digs. Haylee Soyk had nine kills, Olivia Hammel finished with seven kills and seven digs and Sydney Falteisek notched five kills, nine digs and three aces.
Bridgett Pogodzinski recorded 12 assists and six digs, Stephany Espino added another eleven assists and six digs and Adriana Fuentes added six more digs.
The victory means Abbotsford has won six of their last eight matches.
NOTHING’S GETTING PAST US -Sydney Apfelbeck (#7) and Lydia Carlson (#6) team up to form a brick wall up at net, stopping a spike from the Colby Hornets on Thursday, Sept. 16. Abbotsford won the non-conference meeting, and are now 12-6 on the year.STAFF PHOTO/ROSS PATTERMANN
