By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
To say things were challenging for Union Grove girls volleyball coach Annie Sireno at the start of this season may be an understatement.
The Broncos lost many key performers from last year’s team, including conference player of the year Kylie Wilks, and then had some nagging injuries in August that made matters worse.
But with a strong showing in a pair of events last week, it appears Sireno’s team is finally starting to hit its stride.
After finishing second at the New Berlin West Invitational Saturday, Sept. 3, the Broncos swept Wilmot 3-0 in Southern Lakes Conference action Tuesday, Sept. 6.
“We tried to increase the pace of the game and serve tough at our opponent,” Sireno said. “Our strong suit was our defense and scrappiness that helped us finished the game.”
Scrappiness seems to suit Karlee Lois quite well, as she continued her impressive early season with 10 assists, 6 kills, and 7 digs, while Becca Borowski had 9 kills and 3 aces, and Kelsey Henderson had 18 digs.
“Karlee played well both offensively and defensively,” Sireno said. “She is coming along nicely so far this season.”
Union Grove also had an impressive showing at the New Berlin West Invitational.
The Broncos stormed through pool play on its way to finishing second in the tournament.
“I thought we improved since our last tournament and definitely played well as a team,” Sireno said. “We went to three games every match and won our pool to move onto the gold bracket.”
Union Grove posted indeed showed its tenacity in three set victories over Oak Creek, Fond du Lac, and Shorewood in pool play before advancing to the gold bracket and knocking off Lake Country Lutheran in three sets in the semifinals.
In the championship match, Union Grove won the first set against West Allis Hale before dropping the final two sets 25-15 and 15-8.
“We played well at times against West Allis Hale, winning the first set,” Sireno said. “But we couldn’t stay consistent after that and had to settle for second in the tournament.”
Senior Brynn Hetland led the way with 55 assists and 26 digs, while Olivia Dir had 31 kills, 47 digs, and 14 aces, and Lois had 31 kills, 38 assists, and 39 digs. Henderson also chipped in 38 digs and nine assists and Allison Lentz had 24 kills and seven digs.
“Olivia served very well in the semifinal match against Lake Country Lutheran,” Sireno said. “She gave us a big lead with five aces in the first game, and Brynn and Karlee did a nice job running the offense with 86 combined assists.”
The Broncos get another chance to win a tournament tomorrow when they participate in the Kettle Morain Lutheran Invitational.
“We just need to keep building off of every match,” Sireno said. “The competition is only going to get tougher from here.”
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