After coming up short against Raymond on Tuesday, Onalaska put it all together in a straight-set, non-league victory (25-13, 25-16, 25-16) over South Bend in the Oyster Capital of the World Saturday.
The Loggers were coming off a sweeping defeat by Raymond in their season opener just four days earlier. But on Saturday, coach Jenny Hamilton stuck with the 5-1 rotation, having outside hitter Dakota Hamilton switch to setter, and it worked.
Dakota Hamilton tallied 16 assists and was 15-for-16 serving with two aces as Onalaska picked up its first victory of the early season.
“She did a nice job controlling the field,” Jenny Hamilton said. “Pulling her out of outside hitter was scary because she’s our powerhouse.”
Teammate and older sister Morgan Hamilton led the Loggers with 12 kills, 11 digs, two block kills, served 100% and was perfect on serve-receive passing.
Raelee Holmes, playing libero for the first time in her career, worked the backcourt well and finished with a team-high 21 digs. Hannah James added five kills, 11 digs and was 18-for-18 serving.
Hamilton also praised Jen Lipsey, who was making her first varsity start at middle blocker. She finished with two block kills and played exceptional at the net. Desi Smith served 100% and played well in the back row, while freshman Izzy Bushnell saw her first varsity minutes as a middle blocker.
“South Bend is a scrappy team,” Hamilton said. “We kept hitting at them and they were not going away.”
Onalaska improves to 1-1 overall and will travel to Randle to face Morton-White pass on Wednesday.
