New Richmond volleyball team looking forward to WIAA tournaments

• Emily Kukacka

Tiger sophomore Emily Kukacka delivers a block kill during a recent Tiger match.

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The WIAA volleyball tournaments begin next Tuesday and the New Richmond volleyball team is looking forward to making a strong final statement with its performance.

New Richmond received the sixth seed in the WIAA bracket and the Tigers will open their tournament run next Tuesday at Hayward. That match begins at 7 p.m.

Fisher said he thinks the Tigers can compete evenly with any team in the regional. Osceola received the top seed in the Division 2 regional bracket. The Tigers showed they can be competitive with the Chieftains, losing to Osceola in four games last Tuesday.

It took the Tigers until the middle of the second game to get rolling, but from there on they battled quite evenly with the Chieftains. Fisher said the Tigers need to be able to start their matches with a better intensity level if they expect to be competitive.

The Tigers lost to Osceola 25-11 in the first game and they trailed 15-4 in the second game. The Tigers then got rolling, getting as close as 17-15. Osceola then went on a lengthy service run, winning 25-18.

In the third game the Tigers showed their full capabilities. Both teams battled point for point. The Tigers rode strong serving from Britney Ellspermann and Maddie Krumm to keep their momentum rolling and they were able to finish with a 25-22 victory.

In the fourth game the Chieftains built a 24-18 lead, but the Tigers didn’t give up. They scored four straight points before Osceola finished the game at 25-22.

Fisher said there were strengths shown in this match that the Tigers can build around. He said the serving, especially from Ellspermann and Krumm, has become a valuable weapon.

The consistency of the front line is an issue for the team. In this match, sophomore Emily Kukacka was the leading front liner, with 11 blocks and seven kills. In every match it seems that there is a different player who leads the team in kills. Fisher said he is waiting for one of the front line players to emerge as a go-to hitter in every match.

“If we had a stud hitter, everything else would fall into place. We don’t have that yet,” Fisher said.

Tags: sports, tigers, volleyball, prep