WALWORTH - Down 19-13 in game three against its bitter rival, the Brodhead volleyball team knew the match hung in the balance.
But after stealing the first game on Big Foot's home hardwood, the Cardinals failed to spring a swing-game comeback. The Chiefs held on 30-28 en route to a 12-25, 25-12, 30-28, 25-14 Rock Valley-opening victory.
Brodhead started three freshmen and its rotation was finalized in practice the night before. The shake-up had the Cards (2-7-1, 0-1 Rock Valley) ready upon arrival as they took advantage of many unforced errors and the Chiefs' shaky receiving in the opener.
"We were just all pumped and ready to go," Brodhead senior Amanda Johnson said. "And we came on strong in (game three) and almost had it."
Johnson cut loose a ferocious kill from left to right that made the third-game score 21-16 and lit a fire under the Cardinals. After back-to-back mishits by Big Foot (5-5, 1-0) sophomore Annie Kunes, the teams traded points until the Cardinals fought off consecutive game points. Then, Brodhead freshman Taylor Douglas spiked a left-to-right kill and screamed toward her teammates with clenched fists as the score became even at 24.
Brodhead senior Dana Lewis, a 6-feet, 2-inch middle hitter, forced Big Foot coach Jen Stelling to call a timeout as the senior outwitted a double block at the middle of the net, steering a tip kill toward the right boundary to seize a 25-24 lead, the Cardinals' first since winning game one.
After a service error knotted things at 25, Kunes made amends by drilling a kill down the left line through a double block. Several points later, she missed a cross-court, game-point kill by inches, evening the count at 28.
On the ensuing play, it appeared to Brodhead coach Eric Ebensperger that a Big Foot tip attempt went untouched out of bounds, which was the original ruling on the court. After the officials got together, they ruled it was touched by the Cards, swinging the lead to Big Foot.
"I guess she touched it, but I'm not sure if it was a great call," Ebensperger said. "But it was called, and you wonder what would've happened if it went the other way. I always hate it when it comes down to a ref's a call in a game in the high 20s or low 30s."
Kunes then rifled the game-winning serve.
Ebensperger and his crew were left to wonder what might have been.
"It would've been a swing game, and we almost had to win that game," he said. "It was a big game and we had high intensity."
A vocal student section seemed to unnerve the Cardinals in the second game, prompting Ebensperger to call game three a must win.
"I know in the second game the crowd got to them," he said. "And going back to that side in the fourth game, I think it was still on their minds a little bit. Crowds have a big impact, and theirs sure did. There was a little bit of derogatory stuff going on, too, but what do you do?"
The Chiefs built a 12-2 lead in a finale that was never truly close.
Lewis led the Cardinals with 13 kills and four blocks. Freshman Amanda Pickel handed out 21 assists. Dig leaders were seniors Megan Heller (21) and Johnson (20).
The Chiefs won back-to-back conference crowns in 2006 and 2007. Last year, the Cardinals snapped that string by winning the Rock Valley on their way to state.
With a remarkably different lineup card this year, Ebensperger graded his still-gelling team favorably.
"Compared to a couple weeks ago? A-plus," he said. "If we win game three, we're in the A range, but compared to a few days ago, I'm giving out high marks."
But after stealing the first game on Big Foot's home hardwood, the Cardinals failed to spring a swing-game comeback. The Chiefs held on 30-28 en route to a 12-25, 25-12, 30-28, 25-14 Rock Valley-opening victory.
Brodhead started three freshmen and its rotation was finalized in practice the night before. The shake-up had the Cards (2-7-1, 0-1 Rock Valley) ready upon arrival as they took advantage of many unforced errors and the Chiefs' shaky receiving in the opener.
"We were just all pumped and ready to go," Brodhead senior Amanda Johnson said. "And we came on strong in (game three) and almost had it."
Johnson cut loose a ferocious kill from left to right that made the third-game score 21-16 and lit a fire under the Cardinals. After back-to-back mishits by Big Foot (5-5, 1-0) sophomore Annie Kunes, the teams traded points until the Cardinals fought off consecutive game points. Then, Brodhead freshman Taylor Douglas spiked a left-to-right kill and screamed toward her teammates with clenched fists as the score became even at 24.
Brodhead senior Dana Lewis, a 6-feet, 2-inch middle hitter, forced Big Foot coach Jen Stelling to call a timeout as the senior outwitted a double block at the middle of the net, steering a tip kill toward the right boundary to seize a 25-24 lead, the Cardinals' first since winning game one.
After a service error knotted things at 25, Kunes made amends by drilling a kill down the left line through a double block. Several points later, she missed a cross-court, game-point kill by inches, evening the count at 28.
On the ensuing play, it appeared to Brodhead coach Eric Ebensperger that a Big Foot tip attempt went untouched out of bounds, which was the original ruling on the court. After the officials got together, they ruled it was touched by the Cards, swinging the lead to Big Foot.
"I guess she touched it, but I'm not sure if it was a great call," Ebensperger said. "But it was called, and you wonder what would've happened if it went the other way. I always hate it when it comes down to a ref's a call in a game in the high 20s or low 30s."
Kunes then rifled the game-winning serve.
Ebensperger and his crew were left to wonder what might have been.
"It would've been a swing game, and we almost had to win that game," he said. "It was a big game and we had high intensity."
A vocal student section seemed to unnerve the Cardinals in the second game, prompting Ebensperger to call game three a must win.
"I know in the second game the crowd got to them," he said. "And going back to that side in the fourth game, I think it was still on their minds a little bit. Crowds have a big impact, and theirs sure did. There was a little bit of derogatory stuff going on, too, but what do you do?"
The Chiefs built a 12-2 lead in a finale that was never truly close.
Lewis led the Cardinals with 13 kills and four blocks. Freshman Amanda Pickel handed out 21 assists. Dig leaders were seniors Megan Heller (21) and Johnson (20).
The Chiefs won back-to-back conference crowns in 2006 and 2007. Last year, the Cardinals snapped that string by winning the Rock Valley on their way to state.
With a remarkably different lineup card this year, Ebensperger graded his still-gelling team favorably.
"Compared to a couple weeks ago? A-plus," he said. "If we win game three, we're in the A range, but compared to a few days ago, I'm giving out high marks."
