Lady Marines start fast, fade late against Little Chute

MARINETTE — A valiant effort by the Marinette High School girls volleyball team fell short against Little Chute in North Eastern Conference play on Tuesday.

Marinette (0-8 NEC, 1-15 overall) entered Tuesday’s matchup on a 13-game losing skid but appeared to be on its way to a reversal of fortunes after the Lady Marines tamed the Lady Mustangs in set one.

Unfortunately for Marinette, Little Chute shook off the early cobwebs and reeled off three straight victories to sink the Lady Marines 3-1.

Marinette won the first salvo 25-17 but were unable to get over the hump in any of the ensuing three games, as the Lady Mustangs evened the series with a 25-18 victory in set two before sweating out a 25-22 win in the third set.

Little Chute put a bow on Tuesday’s action with a 25-20 triumph in set four to send the Lady Marines to their 14th straight loss.

The two teams traded the lead to begin Tuesday’s clash before an ace from Mackenna Reichardt and a block by Olivia Hanson helped the Lady Marines seize a 10-6 advantage.

Little Chute (2-6 NEC, 4-16 overall) racked up five unanswered points to jump ahead by one, but a 5-2 run by the Lady Marines put Marinette back in front 15-12.

Reichardt fired off another ace as Marinette’s lead swelled to eight, while back-to-back misplayed balls by the Little Chute handed the Lady Marines the win.

Marinette’s 25-17 victory in the opening set was the Lady Marines’ first since September 24 against Clintonville.

Marinette raced ahead 8-5 in set two behind points from Kaya Bodam and Liz Wade, but a kill by Miranda Kirchner kicked off an 8-2 run for Little Chute.

Marinette cut its deficit down to three but a run of seven unanswered points lifted the Lady Mustangs out to a 23-14 lead.

The Lady Marines reeled off three straight points of their own to pull within six, but Kirchner sealed Little Chute’s win with another kill, as the Lady Mustangs evened the set at 1-1.

Little Chute built a 7-1 cushion to begin set three but aces from Reichardt and Natalie Poquette coupled with points by Chloe Seymour and Jaydn Sherwood allowed Marinette to tie matters up at 13-13.

Marinette was able to stay within one until a string of bad luck and out-of-bounds balls resulted in a three-point loss for the Lady Marines.

Set four was another back-and-forth affair until a 6-0 run by the Lady Mustangs made it a 23-14 game in favor of LIttle Chute.

Bodam tallied an ace as part of a 4-1 Marinette run, but Little Chute was able to fend off the Lady Marines and notch the game’s final point to seal its second win in three games.

Up next

Marinette: The Lady Marines close out the regular season at home against Fox Valley Lutheran on October 17 at 7 p.m.