BRODHEAD - The Cardinals fell victim to the quick set in multiple senses in its season-ending sweep at the hands of Clinton Tuesday night.
The fifth-seeded Cougars peppered the Cardinals early with quick-set kills, leading to winning a quick set of three games in the first round of WIAA Division 2 regionals, 25-23, 25-16, 25-23.
A season removed from a trip to state, the Cards were not ready to go home down 19-15 in Game 3.
They rattled off five straight points in the finale to take a 20-19 lead and, behind a crushed spike kill through the teeth of the defense by Mariah Mohns, led again at 23-22 before a service error tied the game at 23.
Then an errant Cougars pass barely snuck over the net, resulting in match point, on which Kendra Jeffers chased down a ball several feet behind the rear boundary to sustain the point. When a Brodhead pass touched the antenna seconds later, it was all over but the wondering.
"I thought Game 1 and Game 3 were going to us, but you've gotta be able to finish at the clutch moments," Cardinals coach Eric Ebensperger said.
While their junior, Kate Brandl, served up a storm in the middle of the opening game, the Cougars unleashed a timing-disrupting play long in the making. With the game tied at 12, Danielle Billington, who led Clinton with 17 assists, gave her middle hitter, Maggie Schulz, a quick set at the outside. Before the ball left the junior setter's fingertips, Schulz was leaping, ready to rifle the ball into open space just as it cleared the net.
"We've worked on it all season and we've gotten progressively better and better," Schulz said. "We came out looking to attack them with it."
Schulz had a match-high 13 kills. Heller was frustrated that she and her teammates knew what was coming but still couldn't stop it.
"We've been practicing it a lot, but it's different when it comes to game situations," Heller said.
Brandl rattled off two aces to take a 15-12 lead and Schulz rained down two more disrupting quick spikes in the next few points.
Brodhead scored three unanswered points to draw even at 22 before mistakes - a spike error and a net foul - quelled the rally. Freshman Taylor Douglas drilled a kill down the left line off a diving Jeffers, but Schulz painted the back line with a lofted kill to end the opener.
Senior Dana Lewis led Brodhead in kills (11), blocks (3) and aces (2) and classmate Amanda Johnson had a team-high 12 digs. Heller led the Cardinals with 21 assists, but she was missing her partner in crime as freshman Amanda Pickel missed the game with an illness.
"Megan is a very good passer, too," Ebensperger said. "So not being able to use her in both roles hurt us. She's a good setter, but she's great in both areas. She's a great kid and a fine player who'll do whatever you need her to do."
"I definitely had to step it up, but it's tough when you get used to a rotation and you have to switch it the day of," Heller said.
Clinton junior Tory Kemp was a wall with nine blocks, and Jeffers got to virtually everything that snuck through with a match-high 13 digs.
"Kendra Jeffers did a great job tonight," Schulz said. "She's a hawk. It's a relief when she's there and she'll cover you when you get blocked, too."
Clinton dropped a lot of five-game matches this season, including a marathon on Brodhead's court just two weeks ago. But they knocked off the Cardinals at a tournament on Saturday and hope to carry their newfound momentum into the second round.
"We're gonna need this kind of performance against Edgerton," Clinton coach Dan Wallace said.
The fifth-seeded Cougars peppered the Cardinals early with quick-set kills, leading to winning a quick set of three games in the first round of WIAA Division 2 regionals, 25-23, 25-16, 25-23.
A season removed from a trip to state, the Cards were not ready to go home down 19-15 in Game 3.
They rattled off five straight points in the finale to take a 20-19 lead and, behind a crushed spike kill through the teeth of the defense by Mariah Mohns, led again at 23-22 before a service error tied the game at 23.
Then an errant Cougars pass barely snuck over the net, resulting in match point, on which Kendra Jeffers chased down a ball several feet behind the rear boundary to sustain the point. When a Brodhead pass touched the antenna seconds later, it was all over but the wondering.
"I thought Game 1 and Game 3 were going to us, but you've gotta be able to finish at the clutch moments," Cardinals coach Eric Ebensperger said.
While their junior, Kate Brandl, served up a storm in the middle of the opening game, the Cougars unleashed a timing-disrupting play long in the making. With the game tied at 12, Danielle Billington, who led Clinton with 17 assists, gave her middle hitter, Maggie Schulz, a quick set at the outside. Before the ball left the junior setter's fingertips, Schulz was leaping, ready to rifle the ball into open space just as it cleared the net.
"We've worked on it all season and we've gotten progressively better and better," Schulz said. "We came out looking to attack them with it."
Schulz had a match-high 13 kills. Heller was frustrated that she and her teammates knew what was coming but still couldn't stop it.
"We've been practicing it a lot, but it's different when it comes to game situations," Heller said.
Brandl rattled off two aces to take a 15-12 lead and Schulz rained down two more disrupting quick spikes in the next few points.
Brodhead scored three unanswered points to draw even at 22 before mistakes - a spike error and a net foul - quelled the rally. Freshman Taylor Douglas drilled a kill down the left line off a diving Jeffers, but Schulz painted the back line with a lofted kill to end the opener.
Senior Dana Lewis led Brodhead in kills (11), blocks (3) and aces (2) and classmate Amanda Johnson had a team-high 12 digs. Heller led the Cardinals with 21 assists, but she was missing her partner in crime as freshman Amanda Pickel missed the game with an illness.
"Megan is a very good passer, too," Ebensperger said. "So not being able to use her in both roles hurt us. She's a good setter, but she's great in both areas. She's a great kid and a fine player who'll do whatever you need her to do."
"I definitely had to step it up, but it's tough when you get used to a rotation and you have to switch it the day of," Heller said.
Clinton junior Tory Kemp was a wall with nine blocks, and Jeffers got to virtually everything that snuck through with a match-high 13 digs.
"Kendra Jeffers did a great job tonight," Schulz said. "She's a hawk. It's a relief when she's there and she'll cover you when you get blocked, too."
Clinton dropped a lot of five-game matches this season, including a marathon on Brodhead's court just two weeks ago. But they knocked off the Cardinals at a tournament on Saturday and hope to carry their newfound momentum into the second round.
"We're gonna need this kind of performance against Edgerton," Clinton coach Dan Wallace said.
