If you score 25 points first, you win.

However the Wisconsin Dells High School varsity volleyball team clearly expects a little more.

On Tuesday night, the Chiefs rolled over the Mauston Golden Eagles 25-14, 25-21, 25-16. They’ll take the sweep, but they weren’t exactly jumping up and down about it.

In fact, head coach Cyndy Collins appeared frustrated late in the match as the team struggled with its passes to the front row.

Two nights later, the Chiefs opened the second half of its conference season with another sweep 25-14, 25-17, 25-14 against the Westfield Pioneers.

As disappointed as coach and players were after Tuesday, a hard practice on Wednesday appeared to have things back on track by Thursday night.

Senior setter, Tricia Gussel said after the Tuesday night match that the team was aware of what it needed to do.

"We’ve been working on our passing a lot, but we just need to work on the control," said Gussel. "When the ball comes over the net, easily we’d be able to cut the play and smack it and we can’t get the first pass on (right now). We were just really off tonight, nothing clicked at all. "

Collins called a late timeout in the game when the Chiefs appeared to be reeling somewhat and her words snapped the team out of its funk.

Gussel said she thought part of the problem was a loss of focus or momentum caused by mistakes.

"We have a hard time sometimes of getting back up if we make a mistake. We just have to shake it off. We have a hard time of forgetting about it and moving on."

On the positive side the Chiefs continue to show its depth in every match. Against Mauston, co-setter Gussel shared the team lead with fellow senior Kristin Oines on assists, both with nine and the stats in both matches were close in every category once again.

"Yeah, we lost some power hitters and this year we’re pretty even, our hitters are pretty even. So, it’s nice that we can mix it up and count on everyone. It mixes the defense up on the other side too."

After sitting out both volleyball and basketball last year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, Gussel is just glad to be on the floor this time around.

"Last year, it sucked watching and not playing, but I think it helped me out kind of – seeing everyone and know what I have to do with my job. So, in a what it helped me as much as I wouldn’t want it to."

Coach Collins was clearly frustrated despite the win over Mauston.

"Yeah, we should be better passers than we were tonight."

Collins said she knew the team could play and communicate better, having seen it at the team’s own tournament two days earlier at JustAgame.

"We really played well this weekend. Yeah, we were 6-0 in our pool play. I think we lost the first one (of playoffs) to DeForest who ended up winning it and I didn’t have to say a thing. They knew what they needed to do to improve and win the next one –and they did that."

Ironically, the team has turned in some of its poorer efforts at WDHS, but in a way, it doesn’t feel like the home court anymore.

"You know, it’s sort of funny, it’s like (JustAgame) is our home court," said Collins with a laugh. The team does a bulk of its practicing on the downtown courts through the week as well.

In a telephone interview after Thursday’s match, Collins said the team turned in a solid practice in between matches and were rewarded with a better effort against Westfield.

Collins also pointed out the shared stats make the team more diverse and dangerous

The Chiefs lead the South Central Conference with a 5-1 record just four matches from the finish line.