This story is sponsored by: WDLB-AM 1450 and WOSQ-FM 92.3 radio
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield volleyball team didn’t mess around with D.C. Everest in its final regular-season match of the 2012 season.
The Tigers scored 15 of the final 16 points of the first game and blew out Everest 25-6, 25-19, 25-15, in a Wisconsin Valley Conference matchup at the Marshfield High School Fieldhouse.
Marshfield wraps up its WVC schedule with a 10-2 record.
On Senior Night, senior hitter Tiffany Stargardt led the way for Marshfield. She had 13 kills, eight digs and six service aces, including four when she served 10 straight points in Game 1 to turn an 11-5 lead into a 21-5 advantage.
After a sideout by Everest, fellow senior Mikala Sabastian had two of her eight kills to finish off the opening game.
Marshfield muddled through Game 2 as the Evergreens came back from a 16-10 deficit to tie the game at 18-18. The realization of a tie game woke up the Tigers, who ripped off seven of the last eight points to win 25-19.
“That was the way we wanted to start,” Marshfield coach Dawn Sadowska said. “We talked about just dominating, making as few errors as possible. When you win like that (in Game 1), it’s sometimes hard to come into that second game with the same focus. But they kept the lead and won that game and came out and won the third one.”
The momentum from the end of Game 2 carried over as Marshfield jumped out to a 9-5 lead.
Courtney Bauer had a kill and a service ace, and later set up Sabastian for a kill to maintain the lead at 15-11.
After Everest closed to within two points, Marshfield got a sideout on a kill by Stargardt, then she served six points in a row to give the Tigers control. Chelsea Akin finished off the match with a kill.
Tori Nanstad had 19 assists, Bauer had 11 and Darian Molter led the defense with 10 digs for Marshfield.
“We’re just really happy to end so strong. That’s what we’ve talked about doing,” Sadowska said. “We’ve been giving up leads to all kinds of teams and tonight we wanted to make sure that we were not going to give that lead up.”
The Tigers now have a little more than a week off before opening WIAA postseason play on Saturday, Oct. 20. Marshfield earned a No. 1 seed and a first-round bye, and will play the winner of a regional semifinal between Hudson and Menomonie at home in a Division 1 regional final.
“We have been injured all season and so we are looking forward to this – giving them a rest,” Sadowska said. “The last two weeks, we’ve been on the road a lot, a lot of tournaments, so we are looking forward to it. This is an experienced team, so we’re not too worried about having that much time off.”