Redmen have their moments, but Prentice has a bit too much

RIB LAKE VOLLEYBALL

A tough schedule continues to take its toll on Rib Lake’s volleyball win-loss record, but the Redmen continue to battle.

The Redmen welcomed the state’s fourth-ranked Division 4 team, Prentice, for Senior Night Tuesday and didn’t make it easy for the Buccaneers, who did ultimately prevail 3-1 to remain in contention for a piece of the Marawood North title.

Rib Lake had a late lead in game one, rallied late to win game three and was right there in game four until a late surge gave Prentice enough separation to close it out.

Prentice improved to 3-1 in North and 28-7 overall. The Bucs travel to Abbotsford next Tuesday to complete league play. With a win and an Athens win over visiting Phillips, there would be a three-way tie for the North title between Prentice, Phillips and Athens. Phillips, however, would win the title outright by beating Athens.

Now 0-4 in the North and 6-22 overall, Rib Lake’s young squad is still figuring out how to shorten the swings where momentum gets away and lengthen the periods they have it.

“We continue to push,” Heather Weik said after Tuesday’s match. “It seems like every time we have a sideout against us, all of a sudden it’s not just one point, it’s five. A lot of it is those unforced errors.”

The Redmen came out swinging in game one, getting a couple of Coralee Glenzer aces sandwiched around a Jennie Pichea kill for a quick 4-1 lead. Tessa Weik’s push made it 6-3 and was followed by a Madilyn Blomberg winner into a Prentice block. Josie Schiethauer’s bump fell just over the net and into noman’s land giving Rib Lake an 8-4 edge.

Prentice turned things around with a 10-3 surge to go up 14-11, Rib lake fought back, taking a 16-15 lead on a Weik ace, but the Redmen couldn’t sustain it, dropping the set 25-21.

The Redmen led set two 4-1, 6-3 and 10-7 but a big 10-point serving run by Emma Dettmering put Prentice up 22-12 and the Bucs took command of the match by winning the set 25-14.

The third set was tight all the way through. A 5-0 Rib Lake run that included a winning push at the net from

SPORTS EDITOR Scheithauer, a Blomberg kill and a tough serve by Scheithauer that Prentice couldn’t control gave the Redmen a 12-9 lead. Prentice got the next three points, Blomberg hit the back line for a kill for a 13-12 lead, but the Bucs countered with another spurt that included two aces from Lydia Harding and a kill from their standout hitter, Kali Heikkinen. Rib Lake clawed its way back, tying it at 21-21 on a Coralee Glenzer ace and leading 23-21 after Pichea’s mishit in the middle worked out, sneaking over the net and deflecting to the floor. Two Prentice points tied it, then Coralee Glenzer pounded an attack off a Prentice block and Pichea pounded the clinching kill off a quick set from Weik for the 25-23 win.

“Volleyball is definitely a game of momentum,” Heather Weik said. “If you can get a team on its heels you can be dangerous. It’s just about keeping them there.”

Rib Lake tried to do just that in game four. Coralee and Camryn Glenzer hit winners early on. Rib Lake tied it at 6-6 when Blomberg powered an attack through a block and at 10-10 with Coralee Glenzer’s kill. Blomberg tooled another blocker to keep Rib Lake within 12-11 but that’s when Prentice slowly but steadily pulled away, building a 20-14 lead. Scheithauer connected for a winner and Weik served up an ace for the next two points but that was as close as Rib Lake got in a 25-18 final.

The Redmen are looking at next week as a chance to build some late-season momentum. The Redmen close Marawood North play Tuesday at Chequamegon, who is also 0-4 in the league. Then it’s off

MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS

to Northland Lutheran on Oct. 5, a team Weik sees as being similar to the Redmen. Rib Lake will be at the Edgar Invitational on Oct. 7.