Chiefs open week with a sweep over Clinton
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
It doesn’t seem possible, but the end of the 2015 volleyball regular season already is in sight.
And that means it’s time for teams to begin cleaning up any issues as the post-season nears – which is just what Big Foot continued to do last week.
The Chiefs enjoyed several solid efforts in a busy stretch, including a convincing 25-13, 25-21, 25-8 Rock Valley Conference win Tuesday night over visiting Parkview.
Big Foot improved to a perfect 5-0 in the RVC with the win and 14-8-3 overall. Just five regular-season matches remain on the schedule.
“We played very well as a team,” Big Foot coach Caitlin Dowden said. “A lot of positives came from the match, and a lot of girl were able to help contribute to the win, which is always a great thing to see.”
Big Foot leaders included Gloria Esarco with 17 kills, Katie Santeler with three aces, Kampbell Hehr with 36 assists and Kenned Hehr with 22 digs.
The win Tuesday came on the heels of a 3-4 overall effort Saturday at the Edgerton Tournament.
Big Foot posted victories over Brodhead, 12-25, 25-13, 15-11; Deerfield, 26-24, 25-9; and Clinton, 25-13 25-8. The Chiefs fell to Lakeside Lutheran, 22-25, 21-25; Altoona, 16-25, 18-25; Edgerton, 19-25, 15-25; and Janesville Craig, 25-27, 25-22 13-15.
According to last week’s Wisconsin Volleyball Coaches Association poll, Altoona was ranked fifth, Lakeside Lutheran sixth and Edgerton 10th in Division 2. Big Foot was listed as honorable mention.
“We had our ups and downs at the Edgerton Tournament,” Dowden said. “It was a long day of volleyball, and I expected for that to be the case. We saw some solid volleyball teams.”
Dowden said the heavy match schedule Saturday gave her a chance to mix and match her lineup.
“A lot of different players saw court time on Saturday, and we got to try out some different lineups as we get ready to start the second half of conference play,” she said.
With the new faces also come some built-in issues that need to be cleaned up, she said, and that was mainly the Chiefs’ on-court communication.
“Our communication was hit and miss,” Dowden said. “We either communicate real well as a team (and) we play well, or we don’t talk on the court, and our play looks sloppy.”
Leaders during the tournament included:
- vs. Lakeside: Payton Courier, five kills; Morgan Courier, five kills; Esarco, 11 digs; and Kampbell Hehr, 17 assists;
- vs. Altoona: Esarco, six kills, eight digs; Sophie Foster, six digs; and Kampbell Hehr, seven assists;
- vs. Edgerton: Kennedy Hehr, 12 digs, seven kills; Morgan Courier, six kills; Kaiti Kelley, four blocks; and Kampbell Hehr, 14 assists and 10 digs;
- vs. Brodhead: Kennedy Hehr, 11 digs, 10 kills; Morgan Courier, eight kills; Esarco, 12 digs; and Kampbell Hehr, 10 digs, 20 assists;
- vs. Deerfield: Esarco, eight kills, eight digs; Kennedy Hehr, six kills, nine digs; Morgan Courier, six kills; Kampbell Hehr, eight digs, 16 assists; and Foster, eight digs;
- vs. Craig: Kennedy Hehr, 12 kills, 13 digs; Esarco, nine kills, nine digs; Kampbell Hehr, 23 digs, 22 assists; and Foster, eight digs; and
- vs. Clinton: Kennedy Hehr, seven kills, 11 digs; Esarco, six kills, eight digs; and Kampbell Hehr, seven digs, 22 assists.
Big Foot Thursday night at Beloit Turner and at the Badger Invitational Saturday at 9 a.m. Other teams at the event are Elkhorn, Clinton, Williams Bay, Jefferson and Janesville Parker.
The Chiefs return to RVC play next Tuesday, Sept. 29, when they host Palmyra-Eagle.
Big Foot sweeps Clinton
The Chiefs opened their week with a 25-9, 25-20, 25-16 win Sept. 17 at Clinton.
Leaders included Kennedy Hehr with 12 kills and 13 digs; Esarco with 23 digs and 10 kills; Kampbell Hehr with five aces, 13 digs and 35 assists; and Foster with five aces and 12 digs.
