Mineral Point Volleyball loses State Semi-Final in 5 sets

By John Dalton

The Mineral Point girls’ volleyball team took the first two sets at the Division 4 WIAA State Semi-Final Volleyball match on Thursday at the Resch Center in Green Bay against Eau Claire Regis, and after leading 7-3 in the third set, the Ramblers went on a 9-1 run and never looked back in beating the Pointers 3-2 to move onto the State Championship game with scores of 25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 17-25, 12-15.  

In their first-ever state tournament appearance for the Pointers, in game one, they built a 6-0 lead behind the serving of Eliza Ingwell.  Ingwell also had 39 sets in this game.  A Laci Lindsey spike and a nice shot that found a gap by Maddy Kabat would find the Pointers ahead 9-3.  Lindsey and Kabat had 18 and 15 kills respectively to lead Mineral Point.  

The next four points went to the Ramblers behind the serving of Sydney Marx cutting the lead to 9-7.  More kills by Kabat and Lindsey would help build the Pointers lead to 20-13 when Regis went on a run cutting the lead to 20-17 forcing a Pointer timeout.  Regis would cut into the lead making it 21-20, but Lindsey would slam another point, and two serve points by Ingwell helped the Pointers finish out game one 25-21.  

In game two, Regis held a 13-10 lead midway through the set when Lindsey would get back-to-back kills and they tied it at 13 when Kabat kept the ball alive twice on a long volley between the two teams before Brynn Swenson hit the winning point.  

The balance of game two was a back and forth affair with no team able to get ahead by more than one point until Ava Ingwell’s serve made it 24-22.  Regis cut it to 24-23 but Brynn Swenson hit the game winner putting Mineral Point up 2-0 in the match.

The Pointers looked confident in game three jumping out to a 7-3 lead.  But after a Regis timeout, the match flipped in favor of the Ramblers.  Eau Claire would go on a 9-1 run and take charge to go up 12-8.  Marx helped lead the charge for Eau Claire with her power with 31 kills in the match. The Ramblers momentum carried out for the balance of the match for Eau Claire as Mineral Point was never able to regain the lead at any point during the next three sets.  They lost game three 19-25.  

In set four it was tied early at two apiece, and the Pointers hung in there with more of Lindsey and Kabat scoring on spikes, a Raegan Galle block and an Ava Ingwell ace, but it was not enough to recapture the lead and for Mineral Point to gain any momentum.  They lost game four 17-25.

“We definitely came out fired up and played our game the first two sets and played really strong.  I think that we played well in all five game to tell you the truth,” said Mineral Point Head Coach Kari Kabat following the match.  “I think they (Ramblers) started a little slow, and once they got into the game, it was a little bit harder for our defense to handle and making sure that we were in good position on defense.  They did a good job of exploiting holes and finding a way around the block.”  

Unfortunately for the Pointers, their chance to play in the championship game on Saturday ended in a tough loss 12-15 in a decisive game five.  But it wasn’t because of effort as the Pointers battled hard on every point.

“We were aggressive as much as we could be throughout the entire match.  Our girls never lost faith in each other and we were just trying everything we could to stay in it,” coach Kabat said.  “Even though we got down in that fifth set, it was a battle back-n-forth the entire time.”

Regarding their comeback, Regis Head Coach Liz Anderson said, “We’ve had some interesting experiences going to five this season.  And I think those experiences helped these players for the entirety of the match.  It’s not one point.  It’s not one play.  It’s not one error.  It’s willing to go all the way to 25.  The back-n-forth we had today, we talked this morning on it doesn’t matter if you get it done in three or five games.  All that matters is to be 1-0 at the end of the day.”

For Mineral Point seniors, Ella Kroll, Laci Lindsey, Raegan Galle, Cylin Carey, Eliza Ingwell, Izzy Dannenberg and Hallie Brant, this marks the end of their high school volleyball competition.  Said Lindsey, “I’m very proud of our team.  First off for actually making it to the state tournament.  We made history in doing that and I’m super proud of our team.  Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”

Coach Kabat, “I’m very proud of this team.  They never lost hope at any point of any set that we played this year.  We won some tight matches.  With Hillsboro we were down points and we never lost faith in each other.  They leaned into each other all season and they do it for each other,” she said.

“We’re so proud to be here at the state tournament.  This is our first run for Mineral Point so there was no better feeling than to be here.  Our community has been absolutely amazing this week and everybody reaching out to support us.  We have the best community in the world and we are super proud to play for them,” said Kabat.  

Mineral Point ends their season with a 17-6 record.  Manitowoc Lutheran defeated Regis in the championship match on Saturday in five sets 29-27, 20-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12. 

Mineral Point stats

Laci Lindsey - 18 kills, 2 aces, 2 assists, 4 digs, 2 blocks

Raegan Galle - 2 kills, 2 digs, 3 blocks

Maddy Kabat  - 15 kills, 2 assists, 23 digs, 1 block

Brynn Swenson - 9 kills, 1 ace, 3 digs

Eliza Ingwell - 39 sets, 3 aces, 1 dig

Ella Kroll - 16 digs, 2 aces

Izzy Dannenberg - 1 kill, 2 blocks

Bree Swenson - 1 assist, 5 digs

Ava Ingwell - 23 digs

Regis stats

Olivia Morning - 4 kills, 2 digs, 1 block

Jacelin Jensen - 1 assist, 12 digs

Izzy Reichert - 4 kills, 52 assists, 17 digs

Lily Lewis - 11 kills, 1 dig, 1 block

Sydney Marx - 31 kills, 3 assists, 3 aces, 19 digs

Maya Skwienczynski - 2 aces, 15 digs

Bella Borton - 1 dig

Ashlee Dykes - 1 kill, 2 aces, 17 digs

Megan Bremen’s - 3 kills, 1 assist, 1 dig