The bus that took the Tomah High School volleyball team to the Mondovi Invitational Saturday left a lot of people behind, including the head coach.

Assistant coach Toni Henry took just nine varsity players to Mondovi, where the Timberwolves finished sixth out of eight teams. Also left behind was head coach Greg Bever, who underwent an emergency appendectomy Saturday. Henry will coach the team when it travels to Middleton Thursday for a WIAA Division 1 Regional semifinal playoff game against Middleton.

Injuries and the flu took a big chunk from the varsity roster. Two girls have concussions, and three more had the flu.

“Our girls are just trying to stay healthy,” Henry said. “Every day we have to fight through at practice to do the things we need to do.”

Henry said the Timberwolves started off slow at Mondovi but played better as the tournament went along. Tomah posted a 2-4 record in pool play after losing two games to Mondovi and splitting matches with Cadott and Plum City. That left Tomah third in its pool, and the Timberwolves played Elk Mound for fifth place. Elk Mound won the match, 25-21, 27-29, 15-10.

“All year we’ve struggled to get off to a good start,” Henry said. “We ended up pretty strong. Our errors got the best of us in that third game (against Elk Mound).”

Henry said the Timberwolves got a strong effort from Kaleigh Organ, who moved into the middle hitter spot. She was also impressed with sophomore Brittany Schultz, a setter who was called up at mid-season from the varsity reserve.

Eau Claire Regis beat Cadott in the semifinals and Mondovi in the title match to win the tournament.

The Timberwolves face a big challenge in top-seeded Middleton Thursday. The Cardinals own a 34-5 overall record and defeated Madison LaFollette in the Big Eight tournament to nail down the conference title. They are looking for their second straight state tournament trip. Middleton also won sectional titles in 2001 and 2002.

“For our sophomores and juniors, playing a team like that will help with their experience and court-awareness,” Henry said. “We want to stay positive with the girls and give them encouragement.”

Henry said the tournament puts everyone back to even.

“Our slate is clean right now,” Henry said. “Everyone is 0-0.”

Regional finals are Saturday at the sites of the highest remaining seeds. The sectional final is Oct. 31 at Waunakee, and state tournament is Nov. 6-7 at the Resch Center in Green Bay.