Panthers have rough EWC Tourney

NEW HOLSTEIN – The Plymouth Panthers finished 0-4 in the Eastern Wisconsin Conference Girls Volleyball Tournament here Saturday.

“It was a rough day. We knew it would be,” said Panther head coach Peggy Huhn.

Three of Plymouth’s defeats came against teams that finished in the top four in the final EWC overall standings. PHS lost to Kiel, 25-14, 12-25, 17-25, 17-25; Sheboygan Falls, 17-25, 25-22, 10-25, 18-25; Kewaskum, 18-25, 25-18, 16-25, 16-25; and New Holstein, 17-25, 25-19, 13-25, 23-25.

We did manage to take a game from everyone. But, we had previously lost to New Holstein, Kewaskum and Kiel, and a game [match] against Falls is always interesting,” Huhn said.

The overall league title is determined by dual matches in the regular season and tourney. Each team played 10 matches in the regular season and four in the tournament.

Waupun won its third straight EWC title with a 14-0 dual mark, including a league-best 4-0 in the tourney. Kewaskum took second overall at 12-2 and PHS tied for fifth with New Holstein at 5-9.

Kewaskum and Falls shared second in the tournament with 3-1 records. Falls and Kiel tied for third in the overall race at 8-6.

Huhn thought Jana Hiti had consistent play in the meet and Michelle Hilke stepped up at outside hitter in place of Leah Glassford who didn’t play due to illness.

Plymouth’s tourney statistics were unavailable at press time. PHS is seeded No. 1 in its Division 2 regional and received a first-round bye. The Panthers will host the Valders-North Fond du Lac winner in the semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. North Fond du Lac is seeded No. 4 and Valders, No. 5.

“They are both playing well. Our challenge is to learn from our losses this weekend and to regroup and make a surge in the regionals,” Huhn said.

The regional finals are set for Saturday at 7 p.m. at PHS