MONROE - Heather Barta doesn't want to see her volleyball season come to an end. But she and her teammates are going to fight until it does.
Barta and the Monroe volleyball team showed resiliency in what could be their last home game of the year, storming back in the final game before losing to Badger South Conference rival Madison Edgewood 25-11, 25-20, 25-22 Thursday night.
"I thought the emotions of Senior Night got to us," Barta said. "I was sad to know that my volleyball career is coming to an end. We got that out of our heads, and we started playing. "
The Crusaders got off to a hot start as senior Alison Guse delivered an ace and junior Samantha Foti had a block to help the Crusaders jump out to an 11-5 lead. Monroe junior Savannah Koester came through with a kill to slice the Crusaders' lead to 13-10. Edgewood came back thanks to four straight service points by senior Alexa Chanos, as the Crusaders took over the net and took an insurmountable 19-10 lead.
In the second game, the Cheesemakers got off to a better start. Monroe junior Taylor Barrett had two of her team-high seven kills, and senior Becca Armstrong powered down a spike to jump-start Monroe. The Cheesemakers (10-21, 1-11 Badger South) jumped out to a 7-4 lead. Edgewood answered with junior Sarah Kuypers delivering an ace and senior Emily Bongard delivering a kill to lift the Crusaders to a 14-9 lead.
The Cheesemakers rallied from there.
Barta had an ace, and Barrett spiked a ball to cut the Crusaders' lead to 15-13. Barta, who had 16 assists, delivered her second of three aces of the match to pull the Cheesemakers to within one point of Edgewood, 15-14. The Crusaders attacked and hit several kills across court to the back row, and the Cheesemakers hit a couple into the net. Monroe couldn't get the momentum back.
However, Monroe did some fighting to finish out the season.
Barta delivered an ace to cut the Crusaders' lead to 20-11. The Crusaders were called for a net violation and Barrett came through with a key kill to cut the Crusaders' lead to 20-13. Monroe senior Ashley Curtis had the hot hand serving late in the final game. Koester had a clutch kill during the surge. Curtis pulled through with an ace, and the Crusaders hit a couple of balls into the net and the Cheesemakers cut the deficit to 24-22, but that is as close as they would get.
"When you have good consistent team like Edgewood, they are not just going to let you come back," Monroe coach Danya Ward said. "They are going to keep on fighting tough."
Armstrong and Koester each had six kills and Curtis added 11 digs.
"When your top kill leader only has seven, it's hard to win," Ward said. "When you go up with a momentum to put a ball down it makes a difference.
"I felt like we had our ups and downs. I'm glad we ended on a high on Senior Night."
Barta and the Monroe volleyball team showed resiliency in what could be their last home game of the year, storming back in the final game before losing to Badger South Conference rival Madison Edgewood 25-11, 25-20, 25-22 Thursday night.
"I thought the emotions of Senior Night got to us," Barta said. "I was sad to know that my volleyball career is coming to an end. We got that out of our heads, and we started playing. "
The Crusaders got off to a hot start as senior Alison Guse delivered an ace and junior Samantha Foti had a block to help the Crusaders jump out to an 11-5 lead. Monroe junior Savannah Koester came through with a kill to slice the Crusaders' lead to 13-10. Edgewood came back thanks to four straight service points by senior Alexa Chanos, as the Crusaders took over the net and took an insurmountable 19-10 lead.
In the second game, the Cheesemakers got off to a better start. Monroe junior Taylor Barrett had two of her team-high seven kills, and senior Becca Armstrong powered down a spike to jump-start Monroe. The Cheesemakers (10-21, 1-11 Badger South) jumped out to a 7-4 lead. Edgewood answered with junior Sarah Kuypers delivering an ace and senior Emily Bongard delivering a kill to lift the Crusaders to a 14-9 lead.
The Cheesemakers rallied from there.
Barta had an ace, and Barrett spiked a ball to cut the Crusaders' lead to 15-13. Barta, who had 16 assists, delivered her second of three aces of the match to pull the Cheesemakers to within one point of Edgewood, 15-14. The Crusaders attacked and hit several kills across court to the back row, and the Cheesemakers hit a couple into the net. Monroe couldn't get the momentum back.
However, Monroe did some fighting to finish out the season.
Barta delivered an ace to cut the Crusaders' lead to 20-11. The Crusaders were called for a net violation and Barrett came through with a key kill to cut the Crusaders' lead to 20-13. Monroe senior Ashley Curtis had the hot hand serving late in the final game. Koester had a clutch kill during the surge. Curtis pulled through with an ace, and the Crusaders hit a couple of balls into the net and the Cheesemakers cut the deficit to 24-22, but that is as close as they would get.
"When you have good consistent team like Edgewood, they are not just going to let you come back," Monroe coach Danya Ward said. "They are going to keep on fighting tough."
Armstrong and Koester each had six kills and Curtis added 11 digs.
"When your top kill leader only has seven, it's hard to win," Ward said. "When you go up with a momentum to put a ball down it makes a difference.
"I felt like we had our ups and downs. I'm glad we ended on a high on Senior Night."
