This story is sponsored by: allmarshfield.com
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – With two freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup, Marshfield volleyball coach Dawn Sadowska likely wasn’t sure what to expect in its season-opening Marshfield Invitational on Tuesday.
As it turned out, the young Tigers held their own, going 3-1 at the five-team meet to finish in second place.
Marshfield beat Green Bay Southwest 25-9, 25-21; Antigo 26-24, 25-18; and Menasha 25-22, 25-16; before falling to tournament champion Merrill 25-22, 25-15 during a four-match flurry that lasted more than five hours.
“We are very young. We have two freshman starting, two sophomores and two seniors,” Sadowska said. “I am really pleased with the way things turned out tonight. Obviously, we would have liked to beat Merrill, but I could tell by the way they came out that they weren’t mentally the same way they were earlier tonight. I told them that we’re going to have our ups and downs with a team this young. We just have to learn from it.”
Senior setter Sarah Wolff paced the Tigers with 66 assists in the four matches. A pair of sophomores led Marshfield’s hitters, with Tiffany Stargardt compiling 27 kills and Mikayla Sebastian finishing with 17 kills overall and seven block kills. Stargardt had a team-high 28 digs and freshman Darian Molter had 16. Senior Kim Johnson had six service aces.
“I thought all night long, we were very scrappy,” Sadowska said. “We don’t let balls hit the floor without someone going after it. We have some strong hitters, we probably just need to be more consistent in our setting and in the decisions as hitters.”
With the young group, that also includes juniors Becky Charron and Mary Wolff, senior Sarah Cherney and freshman hitter Courtney Bauer, Sadowska said she knows the Tigers will improve as the season goes on, and will compete favorably in the Wisconsin Valley Conference.
“I think there’s a lot of talent,” Sadowska said. “I think they just need the experience with the speed of the game.
“I really think it (the WVC race) is up for grabs. I think everybody had to replace some major players.”
Marshfield won a tight first game against Menasha as Bauer, Stargardt and Sebastian each had a pair of kills. The Tigers routed Menasha in the second game as the Bluejays made numerous mistakes. Stargardt had two kills and an ace in the match-clinching win.
The Tigers had a tougher go against Merrill, which is returning to the Wisconsin Valley Conference this season after a stint in the Great Northern Conference.
Marshfield led the first game 12-9 before Merrill scored 10 of the next 13 points to take control Bauer had four kills in the game, but the Tigers could not get any closer than three points from the lead after falling behind 19-15.
Merrill cruised in the second game as Marshfield had only five kills points – three by Sebastian and two by Stargardt.
Marshfield will compete in a two-day tournament at Sun Prairie on Friday and Saturday, before hosting another tournament against Medford, Abbotsford, Weyauwega-Fremont, Iola-Scandinavia and Superior on Sept. 4. The Tigers open Wisconsin Valley Conference play Sept. 9 at Wausau East.
Standings: Merrill 4-0; Marshfield 3-1; Antigo 2-2; Menasha 1-3; Green Bay Southwest 0-4.