Abby beats Pirates, Eagles, falls to Athens

The Abbotsford volleyball team went 2-1 in their last three matches, defeating Gilman and Chequamegon in straight sets but falling short in a 3-1 loss to the Athens Bluejays.

Athens, 3-1

The team had to face a tough Athens squad on the road Tuesday evening. While they were able to pick up a win in the second set, the Falcons could not quite match the Bluejays, taking their first conference loss of the season.

In the first set, Abbotsford had the early edge over their Marawood-North foes. At one point, the Falcons had an eight point advantage, leading 15-7. Even as the game shifted into its final stages, the Falcons still had the upper hand, going up 22-16 on a strong back row hit from Sydney Falteisek. However, they saw that lead unravel as Athens finished the set on a match-altering 9-1 run to snatch away an important first game, 25-23.

It appeared that the Falcons might suffer a similar fate in the next set. The visitors held a similar lead heading into the final stretch of the second set, going up 21-17 on a quick set up the middle from Faith Sperl to Falteisek. This time, however, Abbotsford was able to hold on, despite another late push from the Bluejays. Briseida Escalera put away the final point for the Falcons, breaking through the Athens block and giving Abbotsford the 25-23 victory.

Knotted at 11-11 in the tie-breaking third set, a 5-0 run from Athens turned out to be the difference maker, as the Falcons were never able to recover from the deficit and fell 25-20. The Bluejays then commanded the fourth and final set and ultimately took the game by the same score, 25-20.

3-0

Abbotsford came out on top on the road in Gilman last Thursday, defeating the Pirates in straight sets.

After cruising to a 25-14 win in the first set, the visiting Falcons received a little more resistance in each following game. However, Gilman still could not quite match up to the visitors and Abbotsford came away with 25-19 and 25-23 victories to complete the sweep.

Five Falcons came out of the contest with five or more kills, with Abbotsford’s quartet of senior hitters providing much of the damage on the offensive end. Falteisek’s seven were the most on the team, and fellow seniors Calley Ruesch, Sommer Brodhagen and Escalera each had six apiece. Sophomore middle hitter Celia Schindler delivered five herself against the Pirates.

Falteisek provided more than just a boost on the attacking front. Her five aces led the Falcons from the service line and on the defensive side of the ball, she was part of four of the team’s six blocks. She also had 11 digs, second only to Ruesch’s 13.

Also picking up aces for the Falcons were Claudia Garcia with three, Brodhagen and Caylee Clement with two apiece and Sperl with one.

Chequamegon, 3-0

The Falcons swept Chequamegon in their first Marawood- North match of the season last Tuesday at home, defeating the Screaming Eagles handily 25-16, 25-17 and 25-10.

Abbotsford’s serving proved to be too much for the visiting Chequamegon squad. The Falcons racked up 18 aces over the three sets, only six fewer than their total 23 kills for the match. The Screaming Eagles offense also did themselves no favors, collecting 19 hitting errors. Meanwhile, Abbotsford did just enough on the offensive side to keep a comfortable lead over their Marawood-North foes, recording a .172 team hitting percentage.

Clement led the team in aces, ending the game with five. Falteisek added three aces of her own. Tessa Beran, Oriah Harris, Ruesch, Brodhagen and all had two each. Brodhagen led a balanced Falcons attack with six kills and Falteisek and Escalera had four each.

On defense, Garcia recorded a team high seven digs and Harris had two solo blocks for Abbotsford.