BRODHEAD - Middle hitter Carly Mohns didn't refute the notion that the Brodhead volleyball team was on a mission.
The Cardinals went 5-0 to win the Brodhead Invitational championship Saturday, Sept. 14. Brodhead (9-1, 1-1 Rock Valley South) knocked off Monticello for the title 25-8, 25-17.
"We set a goal at the beginning to get to the championship," said the senior Mohns who had a team-high 36 kills and seven blocks in the tournament. "Once we got there we wanted to win it."
Brodhead senior Rachel Heller, who had 31 kills and 31 digs, was excited as the Cardinals celebrated with the championship trophy in the gold bracket.
"Everyone since it was our home tournament wanted to win the gold."
Monticello (6-2, finished second place for the second straight year. Lake Mills defeated Monroe in a third place match 26-24, 17-25, 15-6 as the Cheesemakers took fourth.
"I thought we had a chance to be in the top two," Monroe coach Danya Ward said. "Fourth place isn't bad out of 12. I think without Vet (Kirsten Vetterli) we had to play some people out of position and that had something to do with our dynamics."
The Cardinals cruised through pool play defeating Argyle 25-18, 25-9 and New Glarus 25-16, 25-22. The Cardinals then knocked off Belleville 25-21, 25-8. In the semifinals, the Cardinals pulled out a win over Lake Mills 25-20, 26-24. Lake Mills made a couple of unforced errors into the net to seal the win.
Mohns and Heller were dominant at the front of the net in the title match against the Ponies.
"Our plan from the beginning was to fight to the championship and win it," Brodhead coach Erin Kammerer said. "The girls have improved every game and they deserved to take home the gold."
Brodhead sophomore Amber Pickel jump-started the Cardinals with nine straight service points including one ace that coincided with Mohns and Heller's strong play at the net. Heller and Mohns each had two kills during the run that staked the Cardinals to an 11-3 lead. Brodhead's Erin Kleppe had seven aces in the match against Lake Mills.
"It was a huge confidence booster," Heller said. "It's always nice to win those types of games. It gave us momentum."
The Ponies played better in the second set of the championship with Berg scoring on a kill to tie the game at 5. However, just like the first set, Kylie Moe had nine straight service points including two aces to help the Cardinals build an insurmountable lead. Mohns had four kills and a block during the spurt.
"Mohns is a great hitter," Monticello coach Scott Smice said. "I think we were a little intimidated by her. It's the second year we were in the finals. I told them it doesn't really matter what the score was. You just want to play your best when you get here."
Monticello senior Claire Geitzel helped the Ponies storm back with three aces to cut the Cardinals' lead to 22-16. The Ponies battled back by some strong serving and solid defense that kept the ball alive. Despite the comeback by the Ponies, Heller wasn't concerned about having to play a decisive third set.
"We weren't too worried," she said. "I knew our team would pull it off and that is what they did."
Brodhead's Payton Wright had 45 assists and Kylie Moe added 36 in the tournament. Pickel finished with 38 digs and 10 aces. Wright and Heller each added nine.
Monticello beat Evansville 25-22, 25-15 and lost to Lake Mills 21-25, 20-25 in pool play. The Ponies knocked off Whitewater 25-14, 25-17 for the chance to play in the gold bracket. In the semifinals, the Ponies defeated Monroe 25-16, 25-22. The Cheesemakers jumped out to a 13-10 lead in the first set after three consecutive points by senior Taylor Barrett. Monticello junior Alyssah Kubly continued the hot serving scoring eight straight points including four aces to give the Ponies an 18-13 lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Kubly started the second set with two straight aces. Monticello senior Marissa Berg had two blocks that gave the Ponies an 8-3 lead. The Cheesemakers battled back with Kari Jordan delivering four straight service points including an ace to tie the set at 9. Monroe senior Savannah Koester had a couple of powerful kills to spark the Cheesemakers to a 14-12 lead. She added an ace that extended the lead to 17-14. However, that is when the Ponies answered. Berg scored on a tip and Clare Bruns had a kill to help the Ponies come back to take a 24-20 lead they were able to finish off.
"Marissa is an all-around athlete and she's not afraid of anybody," Smice said. "She's definitely one of our go-to players. The key in the Monroe match was our tremendous spot serving. If you can serve like that and not allow teams to set up their offense the way they want it's to your advantage."
Koester finished the tournament with 30 kills, 58 assists and nine aces. Monroe senior Taylor Barrett had 29 kills and senior Whitney Disch added 27 kills. Monroe's Katie Holmes racked up 27 digs and sophomore Paige Murphy had 45 assists and eight aces.
Berg finished the tournament with 43 kills and 21 blocks. Kubly added 30 kills, 15 aces and 10 blocks. Monticello's Paige Dilley had 18 kills and Geitzel had 28 digs, 10 kills and 10 aces. Fellow senior Clare Bruns racked up 77 assists.
The Cheesemakers won each match they played until the semifinals. In pool play, the Cheesemakers defeated Albany 25-18, 25-10 and beat Belleville 25-22, 25-17.
"We have to work on setting the ball to where our hitters like it," Ward said. "We had to tip or down balls we normally would have taken a good swing at. I think we got tired a little bit."
The Cheesemakers then defeated New Glarus 25-20, 25-11. Whitewater beat Belleville in three sets to win the silver bracket and Argyle defeated Evansville for the bronze bracket title 22-25, 25-21, 15-9.
New Glarus finished seventh place. The Knights lost to Brodhead and split two sets with Argyle in pool play. New Glarus (3-9) then lost to the Cheesemakers and lost to Whitewater 25-23, 25-21. In a seventh place match, the Knights defeated Juda 25-20, 25-18. Juda took eighth, Argyle finished ninth and Albany was last in the 12 team tournament.
The Cardinals went 5-0 to win the Brodhead Invitational championship Saturday, Sept. 14. Brodhead (9-1, 1-1 Rock Valley South) knocked off Monticello for the title 25-8, 25-17.
"We set a goal at the beginning to get to the championship," said the senior Mohns who had a team-high 36 kills and seven blocks in the tournament. "Once we got there we wanted to win it."
Brodhead senior Rachel Heller, who had 31 kills and 31 digs, was excited as the Cardinals celebrated with the championship trophy in the gold bracket.
"Everyone since it was our home tournament wanted to win the gold."
Monticello (6-2, finished second place for the second straight year. Lake Mills defeated Monroe in a third place match 26-24, 17-25, 15-6 as the Cheesemakers took fourth.
"I thought we had a chance to be in the top two," Monroe coach Danya Ward said. "Fourth place isn't bad out of 12. I think without Vet (Kirsten Vetterli) we had to play some people out of position and that had something to do with our dynamics."
The Cardinals cruised through pool play defeating Argyle 25-18, 25-9 and New Glarus 25-16, 25-22. The Cardinals then knocked off Belleville 25-21, 25-8. In the semifinals, the Cardinals pulled out a win over Lake Mills 25-20, 26-24. Lake Mills made a couple of unforced errors into the net to seal the win.
Mohns and Heller were dominant at the front of the net in the title match against the Ponies.
"Our plan from the beginning was to fight to the championship and win it," Brodhead coach Erin Kammerer said. "The girls have improved every game and they deserved to take home the gold."
Brodhead sophomore Amber Pickel jump-started the Cardinals with nine straight service points including one ace that coincided with Mohns and Heller's strong play at the net. Heller and Mohns each had two kills during the run that staked the Cardinals to an 11-3 lead. Brodhead's Erin Kleppe had seven aces in the match against Lake Mills.
"It was a huge confidence booster," Heller said. "It's always nice to win those types of games. It gave us momentum."
The Ponies played better in the second set of the championship with Berg scoring on a kill to tie the game at 5. However, just like the first set, Kylie Moe had nine straight service points including two aces to help the Cardinals build an insurmountable lead. Mohns had four kills and a block during the spurt.
"Mohns is a great hitter," Monticello coach Scott Smice said. "I think we were a little intimidated by her. It's the second year we were in the finals. I told them it doesn't really matter what the score was. You just want to play your best when you get here."
Monticello senior Claire Geitzel helped the Ponies storm back with three aces to cut the Cardinals' lead to 22-16. The Ponies battled back by some strong serving and solid defense that kept the ball alive. Despite the comeback by the Ponies, Heller wasn't concerned about having to play a decisive third set.
"We weren't too worried," she said. "I knew our team would pull it off and that is what they did."
Brodhead's Payton Wright had 45 assists and Kylie Moe added 36 in the tournament. Pickel finished with 38 digs and 10 aces. Wright and Heller each added nine.
Monticello beat Evansville 25-22, 25-15 and lost to Lake Mills 21-25, 20-25 in pool play. The Ponies knocked off Whitewater 25-14, 25-17 for the chance to play in the gold bracket. In the semifinals, the Ponies defeated Monroe 25-16, 25-22. The Cheesemakers jumped out to a 13-10 lead in the first set after three consecutive points by senior Taylor Barrett. Monticello junior Alyssah Kubly continued the hot serving scoring eight straight points including four aces to give the Ponies an 18-13 lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Kubly started the second set with two straight aces. Monticello senior Marissa Berg had two blocks that gave the Ponies an 8-3 lead. The Cheesemakers battled back with Kari Jordan delivering four straight service points including an ace to tie the set at 9. Monroe senior Savannah Koester had a couple of powerful kills to spark the Cheesemakers to a 14-12 lead. She added an ace that extended the lead to 17-14. However, that is when the Ponies answered. Berg scored on a tip and Clare Bruns had a kill to help the Ponies come back to take a 24-20 lead they were able to finish off.
"Marissa is an all-around athlete and she's not afraid of anybody," Smice said. "She's definitely one of our go-to players. The key in the Monroe match was our tremendous spot serving. If you can serve like that and not allow teams to set up their offense the way they want it's to your advantage."
Koester finished the tournament with 30 kills, 58 assists and nine aces. Monroe senior Taylor Barrett had 29 kills and senior Whitney Disch added 27 kills. Monroe's Katie Holmes racked up 27 digs and sophomore Paige Murphy had 45 assists and eight aces.
Berg finished the tournament with 43 kills and 21 blocks. Kubly added 30 kills, 15 aces and 10 blocks. Monticello's Paige Dilley had 18 kills and Geitzel had 28 digs, 10 kills and 10 aces. Fellow senior Clare Bruns racked up 77 assists.
The Cheesemakers won each match they played until the semifinals. In pool play, the Cheesemakers defeated Albany 25-18, 25-10 and beat Belleville 25-22, 25-17.
"We have to work on setting the ball to where our hitters like it," Ward said. "We had to tip or down balls we normally would have taken a good swing at. I think we got tired a little bit."
The Cheesemakers then defeated New Glarus 25-20, 25-11. Whitewater beat Belleville in three sets to win the silver bracket and Argyle defeated Evansville for the bronze bracket title 22-25, 25-21, 15-9.
New Glarus finished seventh place. The Knights lost to Brodhead and split two sets with Argyle in pool play. New Glarus (3-9) then lost to the Cheesemakers and lost to Whitewater 25-23, 25-21. In a seventh place match, the Knights defeated Juda 25-20, 25-18. Juda took eighth, Argyle finished ninth and Albany was last in the 12 team tournament.
