It’s been a wild ride for the Prescott Cardinals volleyball team as they tied for first place in the Middle Border Conference going 33-9 overall.

The Prescott Cardinals have won all three of their regional matches and will advance to the sectional round of playoffs where they will face Rice Lake, a team that finished 27-8 on the year and swept both of their regional matches after their round 1 bye.

Prescott has done some broom work themselves, beating Northwestern and Osceola in the minimum number of sets and never allowing either team to score 20 points on them. Bloomer, a team they had lost to twice in their only two meetings this season, was a different story, however.

The Cardinals started out strong with two set wins but then faltered a bit in sets three and four, sending it to a sudden death, race to 15 fifth set, which they won. In all five sets, Prescott was the first team to hit 15, but as has happened to them a few times this season, they allowed Bloomer to change the tide in sets three and four and struggled to switch momentum back their way. 

Budworth said her team has been working on their mental strength all season, and that showed when they were able to storm back in the fifth set and win by seven to become regional champions.

“I saw a huge amount of growth in the girls' mental toughness and volleyball IQ. They've also really improved in their sense of court awareness. Our biggest strength going into the postseason is our blocking, especially with Lila Posthuma, who has gotten better and better at reading the set and the hitter as the season has progressed,” Budworth said. “Our confidence level coming into the postseason is high. If we can continue to play the way we have been for the past month, we should do well. Prescott has never won a state championship in volleyball. I think we've been underestimated this year, and I do feel that we have the talent and potential to get to state.” 

Budworth said their serving has always been one of their strengths as well, and they’ve made strides in coverage and passing.

“I've heard so many times in the years that I've played and coached that volleyball is a game of mistakes. The team that makes the fewest mistakes is the team that wins. We have been working on making fewer mistakes all season, and our focus will continue to be on that.”

Ellsworth loses Round 1, but wins in team culture

The Ellsworth Panthers volleyball team under first year Head Coach Kayla Klecker improved to 16-18 on the year, up from just seven wins last season.

“Overall, I’m very proud of how the first season as head coach went. Doubling our amount of wins from last season was a huge accomplishment for our team,” Klecker said. “Although it is something that is hard to measure, I feel that our mental and emotional growth from the start of the season to the end was the most impressive accomplishment.” 

Klecker said the goal of creating a culture that is positive, inclusive and challenging to develop players to play at their highest level takes time and is a hard thing to do. The transition of head coaches over the past couple of years allows for inconsistencies to creep in, which can lead to individualized play versus team cohesion.

“We emphasized throughout the whole season how important it is to play as one unit and not just as an individual player. We were able to see those successes in our increased wins from the previous season and in taking one or two sets away from higher competitive teams like Rice Lake and Osceola,” Klecker said. “It all stems back to our quote that we chose for the season, ‘mindset matters.’ Having the mindset to play for your team and not just yourself, having the mindset to compete at your best level in whatever role or position you have for that game, even if it’s not your favorite, and having the mindset to have self-confidence - all of those mental choices take time to develop.”

The Panthers are losing seven seniors after this year, which will leave them with some positions to fill for the 2024 season. That said, there are a large number of juniors who will lead the way for Ellsworth next year and continue to create that culture and cultivate the mindset and skills that fueled their growth this season. 

There is optimism and excitement in this program now, and the future is bright for the Panthers.

Conference Champ SV sweeps Blair-Taylor, falls to Regis

It was a great season for the Spring Valley Cardinals as they won their first conference championship in 15 years after an undefeated season.

Round 1 showed the Cardinals doing everything they’ve done all season, beating Blair-Taylor in three sets without ever letting them score more than 18 points. Round 2 was a different story though as they hosted the Regis Ramblers, a team that plays in a higher conference than the Dunn-St. Croix.

The Cardinals played hard the first set, but fell 25-17. Set 2 was the difference maker. Spring Valley went point for point with Regis up to and past the typical winning score of 25. In volleyball, you need to win by two points, and, with the set on the line, the red birds came up just short, losing 27-25 and going into set 3 down 2-0.

Things didn’t get any better for Spring Valley unfortunately, and they ultimately lost in three, with the final score of 25-14 in the final set.

Head Coach Kelli Schlegel said although they didn’t play up to their potential, they definitely put up a fight.

“We just couldn’t get the offense rolling and played too nervous and scared. We also struggled blocking and timing our blocks, but I was glad they got to play all their post season matches at home,” Schlegel said. “There is always optimism going into next season. We have a good group of girls who got ample playing time and experience this year, and that will help. A lot of these underclassmen got the feel of good competition and a hunger for reaching the top.”

One of those seniors that they’re losing is first team all-conference, and Dunn-St. Croix player of the year, Mara Ducklow.

“Mara hit her 1,000-dig milestone against Regis. This is the first time in history a player from Spring Valley has reached that threshold. I’m very proud of Mara. She’s always loved playing defense, and she’s good at it. She’s got a nose for the ball and very rarely makes a mistake on defense or serve receive,” Schlegel said. “All five seniors made an impact this year. I’m so very proud of them for stepping up and leading our team. They will be missed tremendously. Now it’s time for the underclassmen to step up and fill some big roles.” 

Charli Vanesse was another senior who received first team all-conference honors for Spring Valley that will be leaving after this year. Junior Bella Stein and sophomores Ella Stangl and Addison Nelson all received second team all-conference honors, so the Cardinals will be returning a lot of high level talent for next season.

Congratulations once again to the 2023 Dunn-St. Croix Conference champions, the Spring Valley Cardinals.

EPC loses in First Round, rebuild continues

After a 2022 season which saw the Wolves rise all the way to regional champion for the first time in school history, they lost almost all their starting six, returning only one in Hailey Webb. This year, the team is losing senior Morgan Dux, who has been with the team the last four years. That said, the rest of the team is returning, so continuity should help the Wolves as they grow.

Head Coach Amanda Webb, who is in her sixth year coaching volleyball, said it’s hard to compare this year to last year as she started working with last year’s seniors when they were in middle school before she transitioned to the varsity coach.

“Our growth throughout the season has slowly happened. Hailey Webb, being my only returning letter winner, was the only player with varsity experience. Everyone else had to bump up one or two levels very quickly which meant the learning curve was pretty big,” Webb said. “Our goal this season was to learn and get better every day, which I feel we did. We played tough against our strongest two conference teams by taking a set from each of them.”  

Webb knows patience and dedication is key when developing any program.

“Our girls need to continue to work together in the off season by competing together in other sports. A few players will dual sport and play club volleyball as well this winter,” Webb said. “It takes time to develop a program and work through the mental toughness that is required to play the game at a high level. Our future is looking bright, and I am excited to see how we grow the next few years.”