Area teams compete for wide-open Dairyland Conference title

Last week was the week that change became possible in Dairyland Conference in volleyball

Years of dominance of the league standings by Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran and Blair-Taylor was upended as both teams took losses to teams they hadn't lost to in a long, long time.

And thus, things are now loosening up and chances exists for a different team to win the league title in 2026.

"I do feel it's wide open this season," Augusta head coach Alicia Bethke said. "There's always been good competition but some teams now have a better chance of winning than they've had in the past, including ourselves. The door is open for anyone who wants to go through it."

Augusta had one of those victories last week Tuesday, Sept. 15 winning at Blair-Taylor by a 3-1 score. After splitting the first two games 25-23 and 20-25, the Beavers surged to win Games 3 and 4 by scores of 25-17 and 25-23. AHS was led in kills by Maddi Meyer with 12 with teammates Stella Zank and Kadyn Kirkham getting five and four kills respectively. The Beavers also had 11 aces led by Meyer and Tessa Schroder's three each. Brooklyn Krueger had a team-leading 14 digs and Zank had 13 and Cecelia Schroder had 12. Krueger finished with 16 assists.

This came after the Beavers went 1-3 the week before. They went 1-2 in the Greenwood Quadrangular on Sept. 8 and lost 3-1 at Lincoln back on Sept. 10. Augusta won the second game 25-22 after losing Game 1 by a score 26-24. The Hornets dominated Games 3 and 4 by scores of 25-19 and 25-13.

"We just did not play very well the week before and lost matches that we should have won," Bethke said. "