The Florence LadyCats went 6-3 to place runner-up at the nine-team Peshtigo Invitational on Tuesday.

Florence swept Mercer 25-8, 25-9 and Marinette 25-11, 25-8 before dropping a 25-19, 25-20 verdict to the host Bulldogs.

The LadyCats responded with a comeback 20-25, 25-16, 15-8 victory over Crivitz to end their day.

For the first time in four seasons, Florence took the court without graduated senior standout Kamdan Johnson and for the first time in two seasons without graduated senior Audrey Franz.

“There are some growing pains of course, but all in all I was happy,” Florence coach Teresa Chrisman said. “We started to get blocked more when playing Peshtigo, more than we had seen all pre-season. So, we just shut down, got in our heads a bit. But I’m also to blame for that, I need to do a better job with my words.

“I’m super happy we were able to right the ship and beat Crivitz. That showed some mental toughness. We are an athletic bunch of girls, just need some fine tuning.”

Senior Sami Demuri led the LadyCats with 37 assists while senior Ashlyn VanDenHeuvel and sophomore Kelsi Chrisman both tallied 21 kills on the day. Sophomore Miley VanDenHeuvel put together an impressive all-around day with 13 aces 26 digs and 15 kills and junior Naomi Millan contributed 12 aces and some timely kills, coach Chrisman said.

Joining those players on the squad this season are senior Ashley Peterson, juniors Lyla Nolan and Quinn Cassidy and sophomore Emily Wolske.

“We are traveling a lot again this year and playing bigger schools to push us,” coach Chrisman said. “We need to not be OK with just being good/mediocre, that’s comfortable. When it is uncomfortable, we (need to) push and elevate our game. If we do that, then special things can happen.”

Lady Trojans 3,

Knights 0

At Norway, Forest Park opened Skyline Central Conference play with a 25-17, 25-8, 25-15 sweep of the Knights.

“We started out a little slow, nerves were high, and it took some time to settle in, while Norway came out strong and did a nice job covering the floor,” FP coach Bobbie Anderson said. “Once we found our rhythm and built some momentum, though, the match shifted in our favor.”

Senior Ava Fischer led the Lady Trojans with 16 kills, while fellow senior Elsie Williams dished out 18 assists and junior Vienne Price recorded 14 assists.

“Ava Fischer had a standout night, hitting exceptionally well,” Anderson said. “It was fun to watch. Elsie and Vienna did a great job running the offense and spreading the ball around.”

Anderson praised the Knights for their play and potential.

“Credit to Norway, they’ve improved a lot and will no doubt be a tough matchup as the season goes on.”

Forest Park stats

Ava Fischer – 16 kills, 9 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace

Harper Anderson – 5 kills, 5 digs, 3 aces, 2 assists

Evie Anderson – 4 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace

Lily Curnow – 6 digs, 2 kills, 2 assists

Tessa Bartoszek – 3 kills, 3 assists, 2 digs, 1 ace

Elsie Williams – 18 assists, 11 digs, 4 kills,

Josie Anderson – 7 kills, 1 block

Haven VanSickle – 1 dig

Vienna Price – 14 assists, 3 digs