Abby vs. Rib Lake

Continued from page 12

Sperl and Caylee Clement kept the Falcons in contention and then aces courtesy of Riley Podevels and Halie Vanluven helped Abbotsford pull away from their hosts late in the contest. The Falcons ultimately won the second set 25-18.

An extremely tight third set would be crucial to the final outcome of the match. The back-and-forth affair went right down to the wire and as the game entered its final stages, the Falcons found themselves with a slight advantage. Kills from Podevels, Marilyn Hammock, and Celia Schindler broke late ties in Abbotsford’s favor, but Rib Lake never let the Falcons build momentum off of those plays, answering in kind. In the end, it was the home team that took the first two-point advantage after the 25-point mark, the Redmen claiming the 26-24 victory. Rib Lake then took the final set 25-21, ending the Falcons’ season in the second round of the playoffs.

The Redmen had a slightly more efficient offense over the course of the match, scoring 45 kills on a .137 hitting percentage compared to Abbotsford’s 35 kills on a .071 hitting percentage.

Hammock had a solid outing from the middle hitter position, recording a team-high 11 kills on 28 attempts. Schindler added another nine kills and Podevels ended the game with seven. Podevels also led the team in aces with three and Sperl picked up two. Defensive specialist Margo Pogodzinski had 22 digs to lead the defense and Sperl added 30 more assists to her resume.

The Falcons finished the season 12-18 including a 1-1 record in the playoffs. They went 4-1 in conference play, earning themselves their first Marawood-North championship title since 2019.

PICKING APART THE DEFENSE - Marilyn Hammock picks up one of her team-high 11 kills against Rib Lake.

STAFF PHOTO/MATT FREY