WIAA volleyball--Third-seeded Holmen sweeps past Madison East in Division 1 regional

HOLMEN — The Holmen High School volleyball team had a feeling it was up for a big performance Thursday night.

The third-seeded Vikings entered their WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal against 14th-seeded Madison East with 11 straight victories and the idea that it would be difficult for the Purgolders to push back against their attack.

So Holmen focused on teamwork, getting everyone involved and having fun while trying to advance to a championship match on Saturday.

The approach worked to the tune of a 25-6, 25-7, 25-14 victory over East at the Bernie L. Ferry Fieldhouse.

“We wanted to focus on our hitting and being ready for Saturday,” Holmen coach Kelly Grabowenski said. “We just wanted to stay focused on our game and play Holmen volleyball.”

The Vikings (25-4) did that for their 12th straight win and earned a home championship match against sixth-seeded DeForest on Saturday night. The Norskies took down 11th-seeded Tomah 21-25, 25-12, 25-21,25-17 in the other semifinal.

Senior Kyla Christnovich had eight kills and junior Izzy Jahr seven for Holmen, which won the MVC this season and is trying to qualify for its second consecutive state tournament.

Junior Rayna McArdle had 19 assists, senior Grace Eickhoff 12 assists, senior Gracey Kline nine digs and freshman Macy Kline eight digs and a team-high five aces.

DeForest finished fifth in the eight-team East Division of the Badger Conference this season and has won five of its past six matches.

The Vikings dominated the Purgolders (0-23) in every phase of Thursday’s semifinal and moved the ball well for Christnovich, Jahr and Kendra Winker at the net. East played its best set in the third, but Holmen took control after the Purgolders scored the first two points.

“We didn’t want to play at their level, we wanted to play at our level,” Winker said. “We wanted lots of energy.”