The Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton volleyball team has come far from its 1-6 start, winning eleven of its last fifteen games down the stretch and closing in on its best season in years.
This week, they secured two more wins in the conference, sweeping Randolph on the road on Tuesday, October 8, and defeating Triton this past Saturday.
Bulldogs 3, Rockets 0
Although Randolph’s school mascot is the Rockets, JWP never let them take off. The Bulldogs took a 6-0 lead in the first set before Randolph scored its first points. However, with a 19-13 lead, JWP struggled to close the set as the Rockets attempted a comeback. But the girls got it done in a 25-17 finish.
The second set mirrored the first set, even in scoring. The Bulldogs took a commanding 11-4 lead before the Rockets again attempted a comeback. However, JWP had some room for error as they took an 18-10 lead. The set ended with Brielle Bure hitting the ball into the top part of the net, which threw off its trajectory and caught Randolph unprepared to make a clean dig on the ball.
The Rockets came out strong in the third and final set, taking a commanding 9-2 lead. However, the Bulldogs got back into it, outscoring Randolph 12-5 to tie it 14-14. It was a tight contest until the end when the Bulldogs broke the 20-20 tie by going on a five-point run to end the third set. A botched Randolph serve, three consecutive kills by junior Katie Olson, and the Rockets spiking the ball into the net as the Bulldogs prepared to block it led to a 25-20 victory.
The game was JWP’s second consecutive victory by sweep over Randolph and the team’s third 3-0 victory over the Rockets in the past four years.
Bulldogs 3, Cobras 0
It was a unique Saturday game for JWP as they hosted Triton for another Gopher Conference matchup. It also served as the Bulldogs’ Senior Night, as it was the last home game of the regular season.
Triton entered the matchup with a stellar 13-7 record and a better in-conference record than JWP. However, the Bulldogs played like the team with the better record, proving they can upset anyone on any given day.
JWP was so dominant that Triton only held two leads the entire matchup, both by only a point. The first lead came early as the Cobras took a 1-0 lead. From there, JWP outscored them 6-1 to steal the lead. Although Triton narrowed JWP’s lead to 6-5, a pair of aces by senior Ava Appel helped the Bulldogs outscore the Cobras 19-5 for an overwhelmingly decisive 25-10 victory, with senior Hope Dimmel getting an ace for the 25th point.
Triton’s second and final lead came in the second set. After Paige Walz blocked their first rally to give the Bulldogs the first lead in the second, Triton took a 2-1 lead. JWP went on an eight-point run to take a sizeable lead. However, the Cobras had fantastic spikes the Dawgs couldn’t handle. With a few unforced mistakes, the Bulldogs gradually lost their built-up lead. They did just enough to escape the second set 25-21.
The third set was classic volleyball. There were plenty of long rallies and great plays on both sides. There were a few times where right-side hitter Aubrey Weedman had to leap for the ball to make a dig, but it helped JWP win rallies.
Triton threatened to take the game into the fourth set when they narrowed the Lady Dawgs’ 10-5 lead to 16-15. Senior Presley James stopped the bleeding with a timely kill, giving the team some life. From there, the girls took the victory, with Appel ending the game with her third ace of the afternoon for a 25-20 win and another sweep against a conference opponent.
With the two wins, JWP is now 12-10, and for the first time this season, they have a positive record against conference opponents, going 5-4 with one last in-conference game to go, tying with Triton for fourth place in the conference. They are also currently 2-2 in section play. Although they don’t have a chance to compete for the Gopher Conference championship, they have come a long way after starting the season at the bottom of the conference.
They played at United South Central on Tuesday, October 15, and won the match 3-1, securing a winning record in an entire season in many years.
