Gearing up

Travis Houslet/Capital Newspapers

Leading the opening game 24-20, the Portage volleyball team needed just one more point to take early control of its match with Reedsburg. That 25th point proved to be elusive, as Reedsburg clawed its way back into the match, eventually forging a 24-24 tie on their way to momentum-turning 27-25 come-from-behind victory in the opening game.

That win for Reedsburg gave the Beavers all the momentum they would need as they rolled to three-game sweep over Portage, topping the hosts 27-25, 25-17, 25-15 on Thursday night at Portage High School.

"It obviously fed the fuel for games two and three," Reedsburg head coach Amy Schultz said of her team's game-one victory. "Basically we talk about the basic things. Get behind the ball when you're going to pass. Be confident as a passer. Make sure you cover your hitters. Be tough at the net. Just those basic things you work on everyday."

Making things tougher for Portage in the opening game was the loss of senior Emily Conner, who left the game with an injury just when Reedsburg was starting to make things interesting. Portage head coach Joann Armson couldn't figure out how her team was unable to put Reedsburg away in the opening game, but didn't think Conner's absence should have been a factor.

"I said, 'all you need is one point, to have them side out to win the game,' and they didn't do it," Armson said. Why? I have no clue. With Emily Conner and her injury? One person shouldn't make that much of difference. All they had to do is side it out, so I don't know. I don't know what the answer is. It's like we don't have the energy to take it and there is nothing I can do about it. It's totally up to the girls."

In the second game, Reedsburg was holding on to a 19-16 lead and again finished strong. The Beavers scored six of the game's final seven points to take a 2-0.

In the third game, Reedsburg jumped out to a big lead early and was able roll to a 25-15 win to seal the match.

Reedsburg was led by senior TeAnn Harms, who tied Portage sophomore Mackenzie Ziegler with a match-high nine kills, while also collecting seven blocks. Schultz said Harms is a strong player because of her physical skills and her willingness to do what it takes to win.

"She's an all-around good athlete, and probably most importantly, she's a competitor and she wants to come out and win every night," Schultz said. "Sometimes she gets frustrated with herself. Tonight though we didn't see much of that, which is a good thing. She came out and played her game."

With a victory over Reedsburg, Portage would have pulled into a tie for third place in the Badger North Conference with the Beavers at 7-5, but instead finishes league play in fourth place with a 6-6 record while Reedsburg is alone in the third spot at 8-4. Up next now for Reedsburg will be the the first round of the WIAA tournament next Tuesday. The Beavers were given the #4 seed and will play Wisconsin Dells at RAHS with the winner advancing to play #1 seeded Lodi Friday, Oct. 24 at Lodi. "We're going to have to play scrappy volleyball. We're going to have to have more than just TeAnn hitting, but we do have that. We got Shelby Beth who hits from the right side, sometimes surprises some teams. Our outside hitters are sophomores, but they're coming around and doing a nice job," said Schultz.

 "I just feel that there was more hope for us to be better than 6-6," Armson said. "However, you got to play the games. Every time we come out we have to leave everything on the court and we have to play competitively."

The Warriors were given the sixth seed in their regional and will travel to play third-seeded River Valley on Tuesday.

"We'll take one game at a time and see where we go from there," Armson said.

REEDSBURG 3, PORTAGE 0

Reedsburg 27  25  25

Portage      25   17 15

REEDSBURG (leaders): Kills — Harms 9. Blocks — Harms 7. Aces — Greenwood 4. Assists — Schulenburg 18. Digs — Hahn 7.

PORTAGE: Kills —  Ziegler 9. Blocks — Ziegler 6. Aces — Mueller 1, Conner 1. Assists — Friedel 14. Digs — Ziegler 7, Hartwell 7.