BRODHEAD - When Brodhead volleyball fans serenaded "Happy Birthday" to Rachel Heller, the senior outside hitter responded with her play at the net.
Heller, who turned 18 Thursday Oct. 24, answered with a tip and a kill to help the Cardinals roll to a sweep of Parkview 25-16, 25-15, 25-3 in a WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal. Brodhead (29-5) took care of business knocking off Parkview for the third time this year. Brodhead will host Laconia in a regional championship at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.
"It made me just want to come out and dominate them (Parkview) even more," Heller said about her response to fans signing to her. "A better birthday present would be winning the regional championship. It was a special night for me. It feels so good to sweep our rivals. I'm so proud of the way we played. We stayed together as a team and swept them which is ultimately what we wanted to do."
The Cardinals got off to a blistering start in the first set as Brodhead senior Jordan Halvorsen scored 10 straight service points and notched two aces. Brodhead senior Carly Mohns, who had a team-high 11 kills, had two kills during the spurt and Heller had a kill and a block during the run. Heller finished with seven kills.
"I just had to serve tough," Halvorsen said. "Serving good always gives us momentum. They thought they would come in and compete with us. There is always tension between us. We came out ready to go and just shut them down."
Parkview junior Olivia Isenberger came through with an ace late in the set and the Vikings scored on a tip to cut the Cardinals' lead to 19-13. However, that was as close as they would get.
The Cardinals got on a roll as Mohns delivered a block and kill early in the second set to give the Cardinals a 6-3 lead. The Vikings were plagued by 12 service errors including six in the second set. Brodhead junior Payton Wright delivered an ace and Halvorsen ended the match with a kill. Wright racked up 14 assists.
"They really wanted to protect their home court," Brodhead coach Erin Kammerer said of the Cardinals. "Parkview really doesn't roll over easy. It's nice to see they (Brodhead) came to play."
Halvorsen and Moe's hot serving carried the Cardinals in the third set. Halvorsen sparked the Cardinals with seven straight service points to give the Cardinals an 8-0 lead. Mohns had a kill and scored on two tips during the run.
Moe reeled off 10 straight service points including four consecutive aces late in the set to give the Cardinals an insurmountable 22-2 lead. Moe finished with six aces and five assists. Brodhead sophomore Amber Pickel had a team-high six digs and four blocks. Halvorsen added five aces and five digs.
"Serving is huge," Kammerer said. "Our serving was not lucky. They were putting the ball where it should be on the floor."
Brodhead will gear up for a regional championship match against Laconia. Several Brodhead players wanted to see Deerfield, a team that beat them in five sets in the tournament last year. However, Laconia upset the No. 3 seeded Demons.
"I want to see them (Deerfield) again," Heller said. "They ended our season last year. I want to come out ready to redeem ourselves."
Halvorsen believes the Cardinals have the team that can make a sectional run.
"We will come out ready to go," Halvorsen said. "It's really mental for us because we have all the talent we need."
Heller, who turned 18 Thursday Oct. 24, answered with a tip and a kill to help the Cardinals roll to a sweep of Parkview 25-16, 25-15, 25-3 in a WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal. Brodhead (29-5) took care of business knocking off Parkview for the third time this year. Brodhead will host Laconia in a regional championship at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.
"It made me just want to come out and dominate them (Parkview) even more," Heller said about her response to fans signing to her. "A better birthday present would be winning the regional championship. It was a special night for me. It feels so good to sweep our rivals. I'm so proud of the way we played. We stayed together as a team and swept them which is ultimately what we wanted to do."
The Cardinals got off to a blistering start in the first set as Brodhead senior Jordan Halvorsen scored 10 straight service points and notched two aces. Brodhead senior Carly Mohns, who had a team-high 11 kills, had two kills during the spurt and Heller had a kill and a block during the run. Heller finished with seven kills.
"I just had to serve tough," Halvorsen said. "Serving good always gives us momentum. They thought they would come in and compete with us. There is always tension between us. We came out ready to go and just shut them down."
Parkview junior Olivia Isenberger came through with an ace late in the set and the Vikings scored on a tip to cut the Cardinals' lead to 19-13. However, that was as close as they would get.
The Cardinals got on a roll as Mohns delivered a block and kill early in the second set to give the Cardinals a 6-3 lead. The Vikings were plagued by 12 service errors including six in the second set. Brodhead junior Payton Wright delivered an ace and Halvorsen ended the match with a kill. Wright racked up 14 assists.
"They really wanted to protect their home court," Brodhead coach Erin Kammerer said of the Cardinals. "Parkview really doesn't roll over easy. It's nice to see they (Brodhead) came to play."
Halvorsen and Moe's hot serving carried the Cardinals in the third set. Halvorsen sparked the Cardinals with seven straight service points to give the Cardinals an 8-0 lead. Mohns had a kill and scored on two tips during the run.
Moe reeled off 10 straight service points including four consecutive aces late in the set to give the Cardinals an insurmountable 22-2 lead. Moe finished with six aces and five assists. Brodhead sophomore Amber Pickel had a team-high six digs and four blocks. Halvorsen added five aces and five digs.
"Serving is huge," Kammerer said. "Our serving was not lucky. They were putting the ball where it should be on the floor."
Brodhead will gear up for a regional championship match against Laconia. Several Brodhead players wanted to see Deerfield, a team that beat them in five sets in the tournament last year. However, Laconia upset the No. 3 seeded Demons.
"I want to see them (Deerfield) again," Heller said. "They ended our season last year. I want to come out ready to redeem ourselves."
Halvorsen believes the Cardinals have the team that can make a sectional run.
"We will come out ready to go," Halvorsen said. "It's really mental for us because we have all the talent we need."
