Chi-Hi ends its volleyball season at hand of Eau Claire North
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By PAUL HUSET
paul.huset@lee.net
Friday, October 31, 2008 8:05 AM CDT
The area underneath Chi-Hi’s bench is usually a bit of a mess.
There are water bottles, bags and maybe some wrappers. Nestled among all this is a toy cabin made of Lincoln Logs.
It has been with Chi-Hi for the entire playoffs, including Thursday’s 11-25, 17-25, 12-25 loss to Eau Claire North in the WIAA Division I sectionals.
Coach Tim Upward said it was a way of showing his team’s unity during his first year at Chi-Hi.
“It was a team-building exercise where everyone got one Lincoln Log,” he said. “They put their name on it and built the cabin. Then we smashed it and they had to write on another Lincoln Log what they bring to the team.
“We rebuilt it and glued it together, because it’s what everyone brings to the team that bonds the team.”
Whether or not the “Cardinal Cabin” sticks as a Chi-Hi trademark, Upward said he feels that his first team began a tradition of success, despite Thursday’s loss.
The defeat began with an 11-25 loss that saw North pull out to an early lead it never relinquished.
Upward said his team began gaining some momentum and it showed with a closer 17-25 score.
However, Chi-Hi could not handle North’s excellent serving and dropped the third game 12-25 after hanging with the Huskies early on.
Upward said the North serves would not even let them get going in the games.
“When you have that much pressure on serve receives, sometimes you can’t execute your offense,” he said. “They have good float servers and because they had so much room, the ball was moving so much. When that happens, it limits us.”
North coach Perris Cooley said that serving was a focal point of his practices going into the game.
He added that his team also had to work on its passing against a Chi-Hi squad that beat his team 3-2 earlier this year after North went up 2-0 in the match.
It all seemed to work well Thursday.
“We’re peaking at the right time of the year,” he said. “We’re getting better every time. We knew we had to pass and serve. That was the only way we’d beat them because they just don’t let stuff hit the floor.”
While Chi-Hi’s offense had trouble because of North’s serving, the defense had trouble stopping Husky runs. Upward said they did a good job of interrupting those spurts in the win earlier this year, but not tonight.
This allowed North to break away whenever the Cards would close in as well as establish early leads in the first two games.
It also didn’t help that senior Lori Kaeding was playing on a sprained ankle.
Despite any disappointment about Thursday’s match, Upward said he knew it was a positive season overall. His Cards were regular season conference champions after a 6-0 record in the Big Rivers. They also became one of three teams in school history to make it to sectionals.
“I'm telling the kids to keep their heads up,” Upward said. “They’re in a rare group at Chi-Hi. Hopefully we can build from here.”
It certainly sets a good standard for Upward to follow.
And even if the Cardinal Cabin is broken apart, gets discarded or is forgotten in some gym years from now, Upward won’t soon forget the players and the success they found in his inaugural season as coach.
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