(Matt McCarthy/Daily News photo) Florence’s Sidney Tomczak kills the ball Monday night versus Laona-Wabeno in Northern Lakes Conference girls volleyball at Florence. Florence teammates from left, Leah Young (5), Lacey Enders (25), Madison Johnson (23) and Isabella Millian (14) watch the play. Laona-Wabeno’s Lavara Gilpin (12) and Trista Weiss leap to block the kill.

By MATT “SWEETS” McCARTHY

Sports Writer

FLORENCE, Wis. — The home team came out like a ball of fire here Monday night, but visiting Laona-Wabeno rolled through the final three sets to win the Northern Lakes Conference match 3-1 (19-25, 25-6, 25-14, 25-9).

The Ladycats were firing on all cylinders in the first set. Their serving and middle hitting was strong, and the Lady Rebels were on their heels. The score got to 13-5 Florence when Laona-Wabeno coach Michelle Boor called timeout.

The Rebels then went on a scoring run of their own narrowing Florence’s lead to 14-11. The Rebels kept the set close, but the Ladycats came out with the win. That’s when the momentum of the whole match changed significantly.

“The first set, we were fired up, we came out like tonight could be our last opportunity to play,” said first year Florence coach Teresa Chrisman. “We had three block kills in the set; those were our first three block kills of the season. The girls were fired up.”

The second set started off with the Rebels jumping out to a 5-0 lead, which seemed to be in the blink of an eye. The visitor’s serving and middle hitting completely overwhelmed the young Ladycats, who have only two seniors on their roster.

Before long, it was 11-3, then 19-5, with Laona-Wabeno going on to win set.

“We self destructed, we stopped hitting the ball, and all we could do was play defense. Laona is a great team and tonight we missed a lot of serves as well. However, we lost to them 3-0 at Wabeno earlier in the season, so we’ve improved,” Chrisman said.

The third set started exactly like the second, with the Rebels jumping out to a fast 5-0 lead. Florence did narrow the deficit at a couple of points in the set, however, it was to no avail; the Rebels won the set 25-14.

Laona-Wabeno’s serving was very dominant in the set. Whoever lined up behind the endline with the ball in their hand was scoring points. The Ladycats confidence was replaced by frustrations. Laona closed out the match, winning the fourth set 25-9.

“We had a girl missing tonight, she’s our usual strong middle hitter, we had to fly by the seat of our pants in the first set, but we regrouped,” Boor said. When asked how to explain the incredible strength of her team’s serving, Boor was hesitant to reveal her methods.

“Our serving drills in practice involve lots of running, it keeps the girls hearts pumping and their energy level high when it’s their turn in the serving rotation” Boor explained.

The Ladycats are off until Monday when they travel to NLC foe Three Lakes. Florence’s match tonight at Elcho has been canceled, while their home contest versus Phelps is postponed due to lack of officials, according to Florence athletic director Kris Johnson.