By Jacob Heid

ROSHOLT — The conference season is dwindling down, and the Rosholt girls’ volleyball team still sees their goal in sight. The Hornets sit tied with Pacelli at 3-1 in the CWC-South standings after a 3-0 sweep of Wild Rose on Sept 22. 

Wild Rose got out to a quick start in a couple of the sets until the Hornets stormed back. Rosholt trailed 7-2 early in the first set, not having any momentum to that point. The Wildcats made a couple of errors, meanwhile, the Hornets found a groove. The home team found the hardwood on multiple kills in the process of a 17-3 run that made it a 19-10 game. Wild Rose applied pressure, scoring ten of the last sixteen points, but Rosholt took set one, 25-20.

Rosholt trailed again early in the second set. Wild Rose had a 2-0 lead before the Hornets pulled together five straight points from the serving of senior Lily Lorbiecki. Rosholt used a combination of points on serves and attacks from the outside hitters, pulling away to a 17-9 lead. 

“I like to remind the girls not to get down. No matter how much we’re down by, there’s always a chance to come back,” head coach MaKynna Lesinski said. “They’ve been doing really well. Even in our matches previously, we were down in Almond and ended up coming back, pulling out, and getting the win. I’m really proud of them.” 

The Hornets shut the door in the second, 25-13, led by freshman Addi Gagas. She found her groove in the middle set, finishing the night with 13 kills, which led the team. Gagas has been a leader for the offense all season long. 

“She’s growing into that role (of being a leader). We knew she was going to have a lot of potential, and she’s starting to show herself, which is really good,” Lesinski said. She is breaking through her shell a little bit more and more and gaining that confidence. The girls are all there and have her back to hype her up because she is a freshman.” 

The third set was the first time Rosholt took the lead at the beginning. The Hornets buzzed to an early 6-2 lead but did not stay like that for long. Wild Rose tied the game up at 7-7, and then the Wildcats went on a run. The Hornets were up 11-9 until Wild Rose scored six straight points to take a 15-11 in the elimination set. Rosholt fought back to tie the game at 17-17 and fought out a 25-23 win.  

With a 3-0 win, Rosholt looks ahead to the rest of the season. 

“We are hoping that we still have a shot at our conference. I know it would be a three-way tie if we did it,” Lesinski explained. So, it’s going to come down to winning the rest out, and our big game will be against Tri-County here at home.” 

The Hornets have a couple of games to go before that matchup on Oct 11. Rosholt’s next game will be on the road against Port Edwards on Sept 27. If you have other local sports stories, you can contact me at [email protected]. You can also follow me on Twitter at JacobHeid_15 for updates on local sporting events