By NATE BEIER | For the County Line
It’s nearly become a habit for the Brookwood volleyball team to end the regular season with an extended match against its opponent.
This year, the team needed all five sets to turn away Cashton 3–2 and finish 5–9 in league play. Brookwood ended up just agame ahead of Cashton and New Lisbon for fifth place in the conference standings.
The Falcons set the tone with a 25–21 victory in the first set, but couldn’t string wins together; the two teams alternated wins the rest of the night. Cashton took the second 25–20, and Brookwood won the third 25–21 before allowing the Eagles the most lopsided victory of the night, 25–16. The final set was tight, but Brookwood emerged with a 15–11 win.
“We came out ahead in the first, and that carried us through the night,” said head coach Jeanine Brieske. “For whatever reason, we couldn’t win on Cashton’s side — games two and four — but we played tough the whole night. The girls were really talking well and working together for every point. Everyone did amazing things, and it was fun to see.”
Passing was key for Brookwood, and it helped the Falcons post some of their best statistical numbers of the year. Lydia Madrigal finished with 21 kills to lead the team. Kate Hyatt added 18, while Elena Witt had 10. Madelyn Wang’s six blocks led the team, but Hyatt added four also. Ellen Marriott was on the move all night from the setter’s position, and finished with 62 assists.
Necedah 3, Brookwood 1
The Cardinals grounded the Falcons 3–1 on Oct. 10. Serving was an issue for Brookwood, which won the second set 25–22 but lost after scoring 17, 16 and 19 points in the first, third and fourth sets.
Hyatt finished with 13 kills and five blocks. Wang and Witt each had seven kills, Marriott finished with 33 assists, and Angel Brueggen had 21 digs.
Regionals
Brookwood was awarded the ninth seed and traveled to Mondovi on Oct. 17 for a Division 3 regional quarterfinal. The winner of that match will travel to top-seeded Regis in Eau Claire for a regional semifinal match Thursday.