GREEN BAY -- In front of a huge crowd at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Brodhead's improbable volleyball postseason run ended in a 25-23, 25-23, 25-20 loss to Waukesha Catholic Memorial in a Division 2 state semifinal Friday afternoon.
Waukesha Catholic Memorial came back from a late four-point deficit to take game one against Brodhead, 25-23. Kristin Ruchti had two kills and two blocks, and Courtney Mielke had four kills. Brodhead led for much of the match before Catholic Memorial's late surge.
In game two, Mielke again had four kills, but Brodhead let a 21-17 lead slip and lost another 25-23 heartbreaker.
The third game was much different. From the start, Brodhead looked like the air had been released from its tires. The Crusaders darted to a 9-3 lead before the Cardinals knew what hit them. Catholic Memorial extended the lead to 12-4 before Brodhead head coach Eric Ebensberger called a timeout to try to shift the momentum.
The stoppage in play only resulted in real-time stoppage of the match, and Catholic Memorial darted ahead 18-5 on a 13-3 run. The Cardinals closed the game to 18-9, and then 23-20, but couldn't overcome the deficit.
Get complete coverage of Friday's match in Saturday's newspaper edition and online.
Waukesha Catholic Memorial came back from a late four-point deficit to take game one against Brodhead, 25-23. Kristin Ruchti had two kills and two blocks, and Courtney Mielke had four kills. Brodhead led for much of the match before Catholic Memorial's late surge.
In game two, Mielke again had four kills, but Brodhead let a 21-17 lead slip and lost another 25-23 heartbreaker.
The third game was much different. From the start, Brodhead looked like the air had been released from its tires. The Crusaders darted to a 9-3 lead before the Cardinals knew what hit them. Catholic Memorial extended the lead to 12-4 before Brodhead head coach Eric Ebensberger called a timeout to try to shift the momentum.
The stoppage in play only resulted in real-time stoppage of the match, and Catholic Memorial darted ahead 18-5 on a 13-3 run. The Cardinals closed the game to 18-9, and then 23-20, but couldn't overcome the deficit.
Get complete coverage of Friday's match in Saturday's newspaper edition and online.