By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
The 2016 season got off to a busy start for the Whitewater High School volleyball team on Aug. 26 and 27. The Whippets participated in a two-day tournament, the UW-W Warhawk Open, which featured 26 teams across Divisions 1, 2 and 3.
The team finished the tournament in 19th place, tied with Edgar, going 3-5 over the two days. Due to an injury on Friday night, head coach Kathy Bullis said the team’s offense had to switch.
Against Beloit Memorial, in the team’s first match, the Whippets lost two close sets, 22-25, 22-25. Bullis said the team’s focus carried over into the last match of the night, coming against Platteville. Bullis said the 26-24, 25-27, 15-11 win instilled confidence, as Platteville has competed in the state tournament the last two seasons.
On the second day, the team opened up with a loss against Random Lake, but then defeated Catholic Central, 25-17, 22-25, 15-13 and Tomahawk, 25-11, 25-21. The team then moved onto bracket play for 15th-place and lost to Randolph in the first round, 23-25, 12-25.
“Ending the day when not playing up to the level they had all day was disappointing but is something the Whippets can’t dwell on,” Bullis said. “The Whippets made progress over the weekend and accomplished their goal of finishing better than last year.”
Bullis also said she typically doesn’t single out a player, but decided to do so after the hectic tournament.
“Anna Riemer accepted the role of being the sole setter in the 5-1 offense when another player was injured,” she said. “She embraced the switch and did a super job running the offense. This isn’t the position she would ideally like to play, but understood the team needed her to be the quarterback of the team and orchestrated the offense beautifully.”
“She took charge serving to areas given to her by Coach Kilar, she ran all over the court to set the ball to both pins while speeding up the offense in the middle. I’m extremely proud of her play and the selflessness she displayed.”
