McKenzie Baeseman watches her attack wrap around the double block by Hillsboro’s Sydney Johnson and Gabi Bjornsen during the Panthers’ 3-2 loss to the Tigers on Oct. 7. (Nate Beier photo | gx3media.smugmug.com)
By NATE BEIER | For the County Line
A single blemish on the Royall volleyball team’s otherwise spotless league record, an early-October loss to Hillsboro, couldn’t keep the Panthers from celebrating their 2014 conference championship following a 3-0 win over rival Hillsboro in the regular-season finale Oct. 16.
Royall dismantled a floundering Tiger team by 25-13, 25-16 and 25-21 behind Paige Hyer’s 12-kill, 11-assist, seven-dig performance. Also, McKenzie Baeseman added 12 assists and 10 kills in the win, plus Bekah Cleaver added four kills. The loss was the fourth straight for Hillsboro in conference play.
The conference title is Royall’s seventh in volleyball. The last one came in 2009 behind seniors Morgan Harris, Kalli Zmolek, Emily Preuss, Shelly Retzlaff and Rachael Williams.
“This may be the best all-around team I’ve coached,” Baeseman said. “Offensively, we have always have a hitter in the front row that can put the ball away. In past years, we have had one stud and another that was error free for the most part but never two dominating front-row attackers.”
Baeseman admits that his team needs to continue to stay focused on defense, the serve receive in particular, as the Panthers gear up for the most challenging regional brackets in the Onalaska Luther sectional. The only two Division 4 level schools to beat Royall, Hillsboro and Wonewoc-Center, may present a challenge along the way. The Wolves face off against Bangor, one of the few teams to sweep Wonewoc-Center, in the quarterfinal round. The winner will travel to Royall should the Panthers defeat Weston. Hillsboro may square off against Cashton in the semifinal and could potentially meet Royall in a regional championship. For complete brackets, visit wiaa.wi.org.
Closing in on a championship
Royall led Hillsboro 2-0 on Oct. 7 at the second of the conference quadrangulars and seemed poised to knock out the defending champions in three straight sets. But the Tigers didn’t get that memo. They rebounded for three straight wins and the match victory, forcing a tie atop league standings.
“Hillsboro really played well, and we were just a little off. We made too many unforced errors in the last three sets and played a little tentative,” Baeseman said.
Then the conference title race took an interesting turn: A tired Royall team found a way to rebound with a 3-0 win against Cashton, and Hillsboro was dropped 3-0 by Wonewoc-Center.
Royall edged the Wolves 3-2 two days later, when Paige Hyer dropped 34 kills on the home team. Baeseman added 20 of her own, and Wonewoc-Center’s Emily Tracy matched it with a team-high 20.
Baeseman said, “It was a great match, and they dug everything early. We kept staying aggressive and were able to pull it out in the end.”
At the same time, Cashton knocked off Hillsboro 3-2 to grant the Panthers at least a share of the league championship. Hillsboro fell again Oct. 14 to Bangor, 3-2, to eliminating itself from title contention. Royall, however, cruised past Necedah 3-0 to lock up the volleyball conference title.
North Crawford Invite
Royall went 3-2 at the North Crawford invite Oct. 11. The Panthers defeated Viroqua 2-1, Belmont 2-0 and lost to Prairie du Chien 0-2 in pool play before defeating Dodgeville 2-0 and falling to Wonewoc-Center 2-1 in pool crossover play.
