Events Sports Editor

The Wisconsin Dells High School varsity volleyball team is in the midst of its final break in the schedule setting up a four matches in a week dash to the WIAA post season.

The Chiefs are using the break to work on a few things before heading its final three conference matches and one final tune-up tournament in La Crosse as a prelude to entry into likely the toughest Regional pool in the state this fall.

In the meantime, the Chiefs continued a perfect conference run, defeating the Nekoosa Papermakers 3-0 at the WDHS gym Tuesday night with an opening game 25-15 win, then back to back 25-14 decisions.

That win, boosted the Chiefs conference record to 7-0 and the team still hasn't lost a game, running up a perfect 21-0 mark through the season so far.

Without a Thursday match this season, the Chiefs enjoyed a full week to prepare for its next conference test, at Adams Friendship on Tuesday, then its biggest conference match of the season at home to the Wautoma Hornets two nights later. This one will likely decide if the conference title has one winner or is shared this season.

Against the Papermakers, the Chiefs rode the wave of big big servers, Kristin Oines picking up 10 service points in the second game and Katie Piekarski with eight of the team's 25 points in the third, on their way to sharing the overall team lead with 13 points on the night. Tess Myklebust with eight and Ashlee Platt with seven both enjoyed big nights on the line again as well.

Platt dropped in four service aces and Piekarski never missed a serve on the night, going a perfect 17-of-17 and helping the team to a 69 of 73 (93 percent) night.

Oines was also a team leader with 11 assists on the night, Skye Solava once again a force at the net with six spike kills and another three block kills. Piekarski also had six spike kills and Kinsey Mace was positioned well, grabbing eight assists and four tip kills.

Despite a 21-3 record on the season so far, the Chiefs are using the remainder of the season to prepare for what certainly will be an incredibly tough Regional group this season.

The Chiefs will no doubt enter the seven-team pool as a conference champion, but could actually be placed in the bottom half of the group.

Lodi has enjoyed a surge back to among the state's elite teams this season and will enter the seeding meeting as the only other team without conference support. A factor that can be huge at these meetings.

The top seed could be between Lodi and Richland Center, the latter one of only three teams to defeat the Chiefs this season to date.

Richland Center will be joined by River Valley and Prairie du Chien from its conference while Badger North middle packers Reedsburg and Portage come in together and carry extra weight simply from playing in that conference.

The winner of this Regional will have a very good shot at winning the Sectional as well.