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Posted October 24, 2007

Prep volleyball: Assumption gears up for sectionals
By Mark Massoglia
Daily Tribune Staff
mark.massoglia@cwnews.net
The head of steam that the Assumption volleyball team has built up should have every other team in its sectional a bit worried.

In three matches last week the Royals captured their first WIAA regional crown and their first-ever sectional appearance.

Assumption (17-15) will face Niagara, the top seed from its regional, in a Division 4 sectional semifinal on Thursday at Wausau West High School at 7 p.m.

The Royals went through the top two seeds to reach the sectional tournament. Last Friday they upset No. 1 seed Port Edwards in five games, 20-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-11 and then dispatched second-seeded Rosholt 25-21, 25-14, 25-13 on Saturday.

"I don't think our intensity ever left us after the Port match," junior Morgan Hartness said. "We were so pumped and excited after beating Port Edwards that we took that momentum into our match against Rosholt."

Added junior Mary Parmeter, "Last weekend was so exciting and fun. I think we realize we can play at a high level now and that has us excited about playing in the sectional."

The Royals haven't talked about Niagara yet, which needed five games to beat Wabeno for its regional title.

"We don't know much about them and I'm pretty sure they don't know about us," Hartness said. "We've become a really close team and I think that has helped us in these big matches we've been in recently."

Coach Shannon Shaw has noticed an air of confidence in her girls that lacked earlier in the season.

"The talent has been there from the start, but I don't think they realized they could be this good," Shaw said. "Their mental focus has been the biggest change in the girls the past few weeks. They've turned it up a notch and are playing in a higher gear now than they were earlier in the season."

The Royals have put together strong back-to-back victories, so changing things up or learning new formations isn't really necessary.

"We've been focusing on what we do well and not worrying too much about who we play," Parmeter said. "We've been playing good ball and we'll be successful and have fun if we keep doing that."