Looking for a SWAL Conference Championship will be this group of Mineral Point volleyball players. From left to right are, front: Bree Swenson, Annison Goninen, Ava Ingwell, Sadie Miller, Sophie Miller; back: Cambrey Carey, Kendall Wenger, Brynn Swenson, Giana Bishell, Kinlee Prust, Kinley Swenson, Tenleigh Bockhop, Austy Kinch. Photo by MP Media.
Mineral Point girls volleyball coach Kari Kabat expects to see her team being in a position to challenge for the SWAL crown, defending what they earned last season.
Kabat begins her 6th Season in her current role and her 9th total.
She also served a stint at Iowa Grant 3 years as head coach and 8 as an assistant coach. She is 139-36 at Mineral Point and 195-103 overall.
Last year the Pointers were 36-5 overall and claimed the SWAL championship with a 10-0 mark. The Pointers finished strong as Regional champs defeating Lancaster and River Valley. They earned a spot in the Sectional Semifinal where they were eliminated by Marshall.
The Pointers saw some key players graduate with one in particular being hard to replace.
Gone are:
· Maddy Kabat (OH) – 2 time Player of the Year, 3 time 1st Team All SWAL, 2 time 1st Team WVCA All State, 1 time WVCA All State Honorable Mention, 2 year Captain, 3 time Team MVP, 4 year starter · Macy Kinch (RH) · Addie Burris (DS) Kabat knows replacing Maddy will be a challenge.
“Maddy Kabat will be a noticeable hole in our team,” the coach said.
“Not only is she a force on the court with her power hits and heavy ball, instinctive blocking ability, and her almost unmatched defensive skills, but what we are going to miss most is her gym presence and leadership. There is nobody that brings more energy to the gym than Maddy. You know when someone in the gym did something good, because Maddy was the first and loudest to celebrate her teammates. We are definitely going to miss that energy to elevate everyone in the gym.”
Letterwinners returning for the Pointers have skill and experience which will help the replacements. Back are:
-Ava Ingwell – Senior, L, 3 letters -Bree Swenson – Senior, OH, 2 letters
-Sadie Miller – Senior, S, 1 letter -Sophie Miller – Senior, S, 1 letter -Brynn Swenson – Junior, OH, 2 letters
-Kinlee Prust – Junior, MB, 1 letter -Tenleigh Bockhop – Junior, RH, 1 letter
Newcomers expected to help the Pointers include:
-Austy Kinch – Junior, RH/Utility -Kendall Wenger – Junior, S/Utility -Giana Bishell – Freshman, MB -Kinley Swenson – Freshman, RH/Utility
Kabat feels this team has some real ammunition available to them.
“We have a well rounded group of offensive weapons this year,” Kabat says. “It won’t be a one-trick pony show. We will have several people that can step up and put a ball down. We will also have a lot of depth on the bench and everyone on our roster is capable of stepping in at any time to give people a mental break if they are struggling. We have not had that in the past, so I feel we will be really strong all around.”
Areas the Pointers are tweaking include ball handling and attack.
“What we are working on right now is stronger setter/hitter connections and creating a more balanced attack scheme,” Kabat says. “We need to force our middles as much as possible and get our right sides more involved as everyone on our offensive side is a threat and asset. So we need to make sure we are using them all to keep the defense guessing and off balance.”
The proverbial dogfight is what Kabat is expecting in the tough conference.
“It is going to be another showdown in the SWAL,” Kabat predicts. “There are a lot of talented teams coming out of our area. I expect us, Cuba, and Southwestern to potentially be at the top this year. However, Darlington and Fennimore will be in the mix as well and any team can take down any other on any given night.”
Kabat expects to see the Pointers play a challenger role in the SWAL.
“I would like to see us finish in the top 2-3 in conference again this year,” she says. “We are adjusting to new roles, but I know our girls will be in game condition quickly. We should be competitive in every match we play this year.”
With all that said, Kabat is looking forward to how this team will move through their season.
“This should be another really exiting season for us,” Kabat says. “I am excited for the potential of this team, and because of our depth, we will have really intense competition in the gym every day, which will just elevate everyone on our team as a whole. The more we can push each other in our own gym every day will just make us that much stronger going into post-season.”
There will be new opponents at the end of the regular season as the Pointers go on what they hope is a long run.
“We are back in Division 4 this year, so again bouncing back and forth, but we are looking forward to making a deep post season run again this year,” says Kabat. “We have also increased our strength of schedule this year and are in really strong, competitive tournaments which will give us new teams to compete against and hopefully better prepare us for that post season run.”
The Pointer assistant coaches are Mike Kabat, Amanda Ingwell, Nicole Tranel and Eliza Ingwell.
Mineral Point Volleyball Schedule
8/26/26, 8/27/26 Justagame Sprawl Invite — Varsity 8:00 AM Justagame Reedsburg Fieldhouse 9/1/26 @ New Glarus 6:45 PM New Glarus High School Gym 9/3/26 @ Southwestern 7:15 PM Southwestern High School High School Gym
9/8/26 vs Platteville 7:00 PM Mineral Point High School MPHS Main Court Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium 9/10/26 vs Boscobel 7:15 PM Mineral Point High School MPHS Scott Schmitz’s Gym
9/11/26, 9/12/26 Justagame Invitational — Varsity 8:00 AM Justagame Reedsburg
9/17/26 @ Darlington 7:15 PM Darlington High School HS Gym 9/24/26 @ Cuba City 7:15 PM Mineral Point High School MPHS Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium
9/26/26 WCHS Border Battle 8:30 AM Westosha Central High School Competition Gym, Westosha Central High School Auxiliary Gymnasium
9/28/26 @ Saint Ambrose Academy 7:00 PM St. Maria Goretti Catholic School SMG Gym
9/29/26 @ Fennimore 7:15 PM Fennimore High School South Gym 10/6/26 vs opponent-logo Watertown Luther Prep 7:15 PM Mineral Point High School MPHS Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium MPHS Main Court Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium
10/8/26 @ Iowa-Grant 7:15 PM Hall of Fame Night Iowa-Grant High School IGHS Gym
10/13/26 vs TBD 5:00 PM Varsity SWAL Quad 10/15/26 vs Riverdale 7:15 PM Mineral Point High School MPHS Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium
10/20/26 vs TBD 7:00 PM WIAA Regional Volleyball Mineral Point High School MPHS Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium MPHS Main Court Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium
10/22/26 vs TBD 7:00 PM WIAA Regional Semifinal Volleyball Mineral Point High School MPHS Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium MPHS Main Court Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium
10/24/26 vs TBD 7:00 PM CT WIAA Regional Final Volleyball Mineral Point High School MPHS Main Court Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium
10/29/26 vs TBD 7:00 PM WIAA Sectional Semifinal Match Mineral Point High School MPHS Main Court Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium
10/31/26 vs TBD 7:00 PM CT
WIAA Sectional Final Match Mineral Point High School MPHS Main Court Scott Schmitz’s Gymnasium
