River Ridge volleyball falls to Highland
Brooklyn Mezera (21) and Shayna Graf (4) defend against the Highland attack. (A.J. Gates/Grant County Herald Independent)
By A.J. Gates
PATCH GROVE – With losses to Highland and Shullsburg last week, coach Dianne Langmeier and her River Ridge varsity volleyball team fell to 6-5 in Six Rivers West conference action, and 9-12 overall.
Just one game remains during the regular season for the Timberwolves, who travel to Belmont Thursday night.
The Timberwolves hosted league-leading Highland (10-0) last Tuesday night, falling to the Cardinals 3-1, but raised over $600 on “Pink Night,” which was donated to the Grant County Cancer Coalition.
The Timberwolves took the first set, 25-21, from the undefeated Cardinals, but Highland answered with three straight wins of 25-17, 25-17 and 25-11.
Leading the Timberwolves with 16 kills was senior Shayna Graf, who also had three blocks, while junior Reghan Zinkle added seven kills, nine digs and a team-high five blocks.
Dishing out a team-high 13 assists was sophomore Josey Drone, who also had a team-high 11 digs on the night.
Aside from losing Tuesday night’s match, the Timberwolves also lost freshman setter/outside hitter Mallory Crubel in the third set to an ankle injury.
“The other girls stepped up pretty well to compete the best we could,” said coach Langmeier of Tuesday night’s match. “Highland has some great hitters that proved to be just too much for our defense to pick up.”
“I was proud of how the girls did not give up and played for every point, especially when a teammate went down with an injury,” Langmeier added. “I am also very proud of our captains for organizing the ‘Pink Night’ and donating to a great cause in our community and surrounding area.”
On the following Thursday night the Timberwolves hosted another tough opponent in Shullsburg (9-2) who swept the home team, 25-22, 25-17 and 25-21.
As the team’s lone setter in River Ridge’s newly adopted 5-1 offense, Josey Drone dished out a team-high 15 assists to go along with a team-high 18 digs.
Graf and Zinkle each finished with eight kills, while Graf added five blocks to three for Zinkle. Graf also had 12 digs and one service ace in the loss.
“I was very proud of how others stepped up,” said coach Langmeier. “The girls really played well with each other and dug up a lot of spikes that were hit our way.”
“We knew it was going to be a tough match. Shullsburg had beaten us two times already this year. I thought the girls played pretty well for all the adjustments we had to make to our lineup,” she added.
Prior to Thursday night’s final home match of the season, seniors Shayna Graf and Brooklyn Mezera were recognized by coach Langmeier and their teammates.
“I would like to thank our seniors Brooklyn and Shayna for all their work and dedication to River Ridge volleyball over the years,” said coach Langmeier. “It was an honor to celebrate them before the game.”
