By Troy Sparks
Correspondent
When the Whippets volleyball team travelled to East Troy last week, they were up against the fourth-ranked team in the latest Division 2 volleyball poll.
Service errors early in the first game by Whitewater helped East Troy to a 4-2 lead. Kills by East Troy pushed the lead out to 12-3. The Trojans closed out Game 1 on a 7-1 run to win, 25-13.
The errors in that first game by Whitewater made it hard for them to rebound from their double-digit deficit.
“The biggest thing was that we had 10 service errors and that’s like, we never have that many service errors,” Whitewater coach Kathy Bullis said. “We started the game off missing a serve. And, when you string two missed serves in a row, you’re going to dig yourself a huge hole. Our serving game was off but our serve-receive was on. But, all of a sudden, we lost our serve, and, our serve-receive fell apart.”
After a kill by East Troy in Game 2, the Trojans broke a 4-4 tie. From there, East Troy never relinquished the lead. Whitewater stayed within striking distance, getting no closer than two points at 21-19. The Trojans held on to win 25-20.
“We need to play with intensity,” Bullis said. “We came out flat. We played flat. We talked before the match (saying), ‘We got nothing to lose against East Troy. They have everything to lose. So, let’s go out and play with energy.’ That game plan didn’t come to fruition.”
Whitewater had an early lead in the third game at 7-3, thanks to one ace each from junior libero Catherine Yang and freshman outside hitter Emme Bullis. The game was first tied at 9-9 and again at 10-10. A kill on the next point gave East Troy the lead for good. Back-to-back aces increased the lead to 18-12. A block gave the Trojans their biggest lead at 24-14. They won the last game, 25-16.
Whitewater is now 13-19 overall and 1-5 in the Rock Valley Conference.
Whitewater at East Troy, Sept. 26
Whitewater lost to East Troy 3-0. 13-25, 20-25, 16-25.
Whitewater Statistical Leaders
Kills – Emme Bullis 7 Lorynn Hollingshead 5
Aces – Casey Skindingsrude 2
Digs – Catherine Yang 11 Allison Heckert 10 Hollingshead 9
East Troy Statistical Leaders
Kills – Isabelle Martino 8 Katie Winkler and Katie Zewiske 7
Aces – Mati Jakscht and Emily Wendt 4
Digs – Zewiske 12 Jakscht 9
Whitewater at Evansville, Sept. 28
Whitewater lost to Evansville 3-2. 25-21, 14-25, 18-25, 21-25.
Whitewater Statistical Leaders
Kills – Bullis 11 Hollingshead 9
Aces – Hollingshead 4 Bullis 3
Digs – Yang 16 Bullis 13 Hollingshead 12 Heckert 11
East Troy at Jefferson Sept. 28
East Troy beat Jefferson 3-2 22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 20-25, 15-5.
East Troy Statistical Leaders
Kills – Martino 8 Winkler and Zewiske 7
Aces – Jakscht and Wendt 4
Digs – Zewiske 12 Jakscht 9
September 30 at Janesville Craig Tournament
Whitewater 0-3
Lost to Janesville Craig 20-25, 13-25. Lost to Waterloo 15-25, 20-25. Lost to Fond du Lac 11-25, 8-25.
