This story is sponsored by: The University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
SPENCER – Expectations may not have been high outside Spencer High School for the Rockets volleyball team this year.
Coming off a Division 3 runner-up finish at the WIAA State Volleyball Tournament last year, the Rockets lost five key seniors to graduation, including top hitter and blocker Courtney Schulz, hitter Aubrie Bissonette, setter Kyleigh Hebert, libero Danica Johnson and defensive specialist Krystal Weier.
Spencer was still expected to be in the mix for the Cloverbelt Conference East Division title, along with Owen-Withee and Neillsville, but not many could see the Rockets being a dominant force like it has been.
The Rockets retooled and reloaded, and rolled through the conference, finishing off an 8-0 match record and a 24-1 game record with a 3-1 win over Owen-Withee on Thursday night.
“In the beginning of the year, the people coming back were like, ‘We don’t want to not do it again,” Spencer coach Buff Heller said. “We lost four or five really good players. I think we shocked a lot of people with where we at right now.”
Tynae Phillips moved into the middle of the front row, alongside returning hitters Paige Johnson and Tara Matter. Sophomore Marisa Johnson and Alicia Endreas took on expanded roles from defensive specialists to all-around and libero, respectively, and Brooke Kettleborough stepped in as the Rockets’ top setter.
As the team has battled through injuries and illnesses throughout the season one thing was consistent – it kept winning.
“We have not been challenged a whole lot lately, but hopefully we get into the swing of things and get healthy here in the last week,” Heller said. “We’ve played a lot without our full team. The first two tournaments, Tara had a virus and only played a little in one tournament and sat out the other; at Auburndale were pretty much had our whole team and won it; we went to Abbotsford without Paige because she was playing hockey for Team Wisconsin, and won that; we went to Stratford and went 3-1 during homecoming week and with two people that were injured.
“(Tuesday against Owen-Withee) we put the full team out there to compete for the first time in a while and played well.”
The Rockets will be nothing but challenged the rest of the way as they try to repeat as sectional champions and make a return trip to Green Bay for the state tournament.
Spencer will play a Cloverbelt Conference crossover match at home on Oct. 11 against West Division champion Eau Claire Regis, then hit the regionals with potential matches against Neillsville, Auburndale and/or Athens as early as the regional semifinals or finals.
“The regional is really loaded,” Heller said. “When you look at a team like Neillsville and they could be an 8-seed, and if we are the one we would have to play them in the second round, that’s crazy. It’s going to be a really tough road again.”
The WIAA regionals begin Oct. 18.