By NATE BEIER | For the County Line
There is just a week left in the regular season for Wisconsin high school volleyball teams, and for schools in the Scenic Bluffs, the race continues to see who will lay claim to this year’s league championship.
Hillsboro continues to be the frontrunner. As the Tigers navigate the schedule, they fail to lose. However, Royall is right behind its rivals to the south with just a singular league loss. The road for coach Craig Baeseman and his team is far from easy, though, as Royall must square off against third-place Cashton tonight (Thursday) and Wonewoc-Center next Tuesday before ending with Hillsboro in a game that could determine if we have a singular or shared championship.
Last week, Royall defeated Bangor 3–1 and New Lisbon 3–0.
Royall defeated Bangor 25–16 and 25–10, but then allowed the Cardinals to take the third set 25–10. The fourth set was the closest of the night, but Royall responded with a 25–21 win.
Emma Gruen ended with 12 kills, while Cheyenne Harris added seven. The team ended with 19 serving aces, led by a trio (Ally Friedl, Katelyn Klipstein and Harris) with four a piece. Molly Crneckiy had 24 assists.
Defensively, Savannah DeWitt ended with 13 digs and Gruen added 11.
The Panthers outlasted New Lisbon in the first set 27–25, and then went on to sweep the Rockets by winning the next two games 25–12 and 25–10.
The win was coach Craig Baeseman’s 500th career win.
Gruen paced the offense with 17 kills, while Veronica Mertins added 11. Molly Crneckiy had 29 assists, and Kaylin Gruen had six. The team recorded 15 serving aces.
Jessica Brueggeman had a pair of blocks; DeWitt tallied 14 digs. Emma Gruen and Ally Friedl each had 11 digs as well.
Royall is 20–5 on the season and is now 8–1 in league play.