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By Kate Huber, Maquoketa Valley senior

DELHI – The Maquoketa Valley volleyball team took on two of the toughest teams in the Tri-Rivers conference recently, facing  Ed-Co and Cascade.

Last Thursday night, the Wildcats traveled to Edgewood to take on a tough Vikings team. The girls came out strong and with the support of an amazing student section, were able to steal a game from Ed-Co. However, the girls came up short, losing in four. 25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 25-19.

Nicole Kudrna led the offense  with 11 kills. Brooke Wooten had nine assists and  fellow setter Ali Holtz had eight. Kudrna also led the serving, going 14 for 14 with two aces. Ashley Holtz followed her, going 10 for 10 with three aces.

Defensively, libero Ashley Holtz led the team with 15 digs in the back row. Megan Mensen and Nicole Kudrna led the team at the net with two blocks a piece.

“I was so proud of the way the girls came out and played every point of this match,” Coach Tiffany Feldmann said. “We had some awesome digs, sets and hits by all. It was nice to see so much support at Ed-Co from our awesome student section, their enthusiasm truly kept us going. This is definitely the best volleyball yet this season!”

On Tuesday, the Wildcats hosted another talented conference team in Cascade. The girls competed, but once again came up short.

Maquoketa Valley lost in three games: 25-19, 25-17  and 25-23.

“Well, the girls continue to improve their game but just couldn’t keep up with a very strong Cascade offense,” Feldmann said. “We had some strong runs during all three games, but just continued to play catch up. We are going to push ourselves to better the ball and finish strong as we end conference play.”

Nicole Kudrna impressively led the offense  with 12 kills. Following her was Renee Huber with 11. Kudrna also led the serving, going 11 for 11 with 2 aces. Brooke Wooten had 15 assists,  Ali Holtz 11.

Kudrna and Megan Mensen both had two blocks against the Cougars. Huber led the back row with 13 digs and libero Ashley Holtz had 12 digs.

The Wildcats close the regular season Tuesday night on Senior Night against Monticello. On Oct. 13, the team will compete in the conference tournament at Starmont.