By Jacob Heid

AMHERST — The Rosholt Hornets volleyball team came into the season needing to fill in some of the gaps from a season ago. In its second set of matches this year, Rosholt left the Amherst quadrangular 2-1 on Aug 24 after losing its first game against Waupaca. Amherst also finished the evening 1-2 after winning its first game. 

Rosholt has to enjoy the start they’ve had to the new season. Coming into this quadrangular, the Hornets swept the two games they played in straight sets at the triangular they hosted on Aug 23. Fast-forward a day later, Rosholt improves its season record to 4-1.

Rosholt shows toughness after losing first game

The first game Rosholt got to play was against Waupaca. The Hornets had to play defense for most of the first set because they couldn’t get control of a serve. The result was being down 8-1 to the Comets early. Rosholt had only three points entering the late portion of the set but fought back to make it a 24-13 game. Waupaca won it on the next serve. 

The more competitive set came in the second. Waupaca’s hard-hitting front made it hard for Rosholt to return much of anything. The Hornets fought through the second set, losing 24-26 in a battle. Freshman Addi Gagas led the Hornet offense with six kills in the game. Junior Sarah Trzinski had four kills to follow.

After a tough straight-set loss to the Comets, Rosholt never looked back. In the next game, they beat Cambria-Friesland in straight sets, 25-17, 26-24. Rosholt was the aggressor in this game. In the Hornets’ final game, they played Amherst. The game went the full distance in favor of Rosholt. The first two sets were close, ending 25-21 and 23-25. Rosholt shot out of a cannon in the third set, blitzing the Falcons in a 15-2 third set to win the game.   

Trzinski led the Hornets with 23 kills in three games. Gagas had 21 kills to complement her counterpart. Senior Lily Lorbiecki had 29 assists in the three games.   

Amherst loses two straight games after opening win

 The Falcons started the night out with a three-set game against Cambria-Friesland. Amherst led a tightly contested set 7-6 after junior Tatum Maves buried two attacks in the back corner. The Falcons tacked on five straight points after that, making it a 12-6 game. Sophomore Amara Beaudoin made an impact at the net with her height. She had a couple of tips and blocks in the opening set. It went point for point after the Toppers made a run until Amherst closed the door for a 26-24 win. 

The second set went the Toppers way. Amherst trailed 7-3 early and then scored eight out of nine points, taking an 11-8 lead. Cambria-Friesland came back to lead 17-16, and the Toppers went on to take the set 20-25. The Falcons won the third set, putting a win on the board.

 Amherst would then go on to play Waupaca in the second game. A three-set match went in favor of the Comets after the teams split the first two sets. Then, in the final game, the Falcons lost in three to Rosholt after a dominant 15-2 third set from the Hornets.  

If you have other local sports news or information, contact me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter at JacobHeid_15 for more sports coverage at events.