MONROE - To Monroe senior Savannah Koester, it was just a matter of time before the Cheesemakers would get on a roll.
The Cheesemakers won three straight matches and finished 3-2 en route to a second-place finish at the Monroe Invitational Saturday, Aug. 31.
"Our goal was to place," Koester said. "Everyone really rallied together and we were so pumped up that no one could stop us. Everyone was communicating and it all came together."
Koester and senior Katie Holmes were named to the all-tournament team. Koester finished with 17 kills, 31 assists and seven blocks and Holmes racked up a team-high 35 digs.
"Monroe has had their glory years with volleyball," Monroe coach Danya Ward said. "It's been a while since we have done well in this tournament. I really wanted them to get it (a plaque) because they have worked so hard."
Monroe (3-4) opened the invite, dropping two close matches to Wisconsin Heights 24-26, 25-17, 16-14 and Richland Center 25-17, 25-21. The Cheesemakers made a turnaround against Watertown Luther Prep. Monroe sophomore Paige Murphy had four aces in the first set against Watertown Luther Prep to spark the Cheesemakers to an 11-7 lead. Holmes came through with an ace and senior Kirsten Vetterli had a kill to give the Cheesemakers a 19-12 lead. Koester closed out the first set with nine straight points, including four aces to propel the Cheesemakers to a 25-12, 25-21 win over Watertown Luther Prep. The Cheesemakers got one-third of their points off aces (nine).
The second set was tight and Koester's ace gave the Cheesemakers a 16-15 lead. Vetterli scored on a tip and a kill to tie the second set at 19. Monroe senior Taylor Barrett and Kari Jordan combined on a pivotal block to give the Cheesemakers a 22-19 lead. Koester and Barrett followed with kills to seal the win.
The Cheesemakers got off to a slow start against Mount Horeb and trailed the Vikings 8-1 early in the first set. The only point for the Cheesemakers early on came on Barrett's tip. The Cheesemakers had two service errors in their first two rotations.
But it didn't take the Cheesemakers long to rebound. Aces by Holmes and Monroe senior Whitney Disch sliced the Vikings' lead to 11-10. Disch had a run of six straight service points and four aces to help the Cheesemakers storm back. Murphy had two aces to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 21-16. Koester had a key block and Barrett had a kill to seal the comeback win.
"I told them if they can take advantage of weaknesses, that is how they win games," Ward said. "It was nice to be on the other side of that one. They got a taste of what winning was like and wanted more."
In the second set against the Vikings, Koester had a kill and Disch scored on a tip to give the Cheesemakers a 7-1 lead. The Vikings battled back to tie it at 11 and then took a 12-11 lead on an ace.
Murphy delivered two aces to help the Cheesemakers surge back to a a 15-12 lead. Jordan had back-to-back aces late in the first set to give the Cheesemakers a 19-13 lead. Barrett had a key block to help the Cheesemakers roll to a 22-14 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Barrett had a team-high 32 kills and 15.5 blocks for the tournament. Disch finished with 28 kills and 10 aces. Murphy had a team-high 37 assists and 14 aces.
"We built some confidence coming out on top," Disch said. "We haven't won very many matches. I think we all worked well together. I think we have more confidence now and we know we can get points with our serve because we have really good servers. Our goal was to win a couple of matches, do our best and place."
Monroe closed out the invite by defeating New Glarus 26-24, 25-16. The Glarner Knights finished the tournament 1-4 and took fifth place. New Glarus lost to Mount Horeb 25-20, 25-12 and then beat Watertown Luther Prep in three sets 22-25, 26-24, 15-10. The Glarner Knights (1-5) lost to Richland Center 25-14, 25-7 and lost to Wisconsin Heights 25-12, 25-21.
New Glarus sophomore Maddie Macht finished the tournament with a team-high 29 kills, 22 digs and four aces. New Glarus senior Sierra Watrud had a team-high 37 digs and junior Breanne Kreklow had 61 assists. Senior Jamie Statz had 14 kills and Sierra Macht had four blocks.
Serving was a weapon for the Cheesemakers and several teams in the tournament. Ward said the Cheesemakers took advantage of making the serve a factor in the matches by serving aggressively. Koester has been working on perfecting her jump serve.
"I have been working on my jump serve since my freshman year," Koester said. "It shows because that is what got me noticed by the Badger Region and I can hit on the outside as a lefty. They say the more movement, the greater chance of error. If you can serve with more top spin on the ball, low and hard that is the most aggressive serve. We have Whitney, Paige and myself who can put it down."
With a three-match winning streak, Koester looks forward to keeping the hot streak going.
"We definitely have the skill to become better," she said.
The Cheesemakers won three straight matches and finished 3-2 en route to a second-place finish at the Monroe Invitational Saturday, Aug. 31.
"Our goal was to place," Koester said. "Everyone really rallied together and we were so pumped up that no one could stop us. Everyone was communicating and it all came together."
Koester and senior Katie Holmes were named to the all-tournament team. Koester finished with 17 kills, 31 assists and seven blocks and Holmes racked up a team-high 35 digs.
"Monroe has had their glory years with volleyball," Monroe coach Danya Ward said. "It's been a while since we have done well in this tournament. I really wanted them to get it (a plaque) because they have worked so hard."
Monroe (3-4) opened the invite, dropping two close matches to Wisconsin Heights 24-26, 25-17, 16-14 and Richland Center 25-17, 25-21. The Cheesemakers made a turnaround against Watertown Luther Prep. Monroe sophomore Paige Murphy had four aces in the first set against Watertown Luther Prep to spark the Cheesemakers to an 11-7 lead. Holmes came through with an ace and senior Kirsten Vetterli had a kill to give the Cheesemakers a 19-12 lead. Koester closed out the first set with nine straight points, including four aces to propel the Cheesemakers to a 25-12, 25-21 win over Watertown Luther Prep. The Cheesemakers got one-third of their points off aces (nine).
The second set was tight and Koester's ace gave the Cheesemakers a 16-15 lead. Vetterli scored on a tip and a kill to tie the second set at 19. Monroe senior Taylor Barrett and Kari Jordan combined on a pivotal block to give the Cheesemakers a 22-19 lead. Koester and Barrett followed with kills to seal the win.
The Cheesemakers got off to a slow start against Mount Horeb and trailed the Vikings 8-1 early in the first set. The only point for the Cheesemakers early on came on Barrett's tip. The Cheesemakers had two service errors in their first two rotations.
But it didn't take the Cheesemakers long to rebound. Aces by Holmes and Monroe senior Whitney Disch sliced the Vikings' lead to 11-10. Disch had a run of six straight service points and four aces to help the Cheesemakers storm back. Murphy had two aces to extend the Cheesemakers' lead to 21-16. Koester had a key block and Barrett had a kill to seal the comeback win.
"I told them if they can take advantage of weaknesses, that is how they win games," Ward said. "It was nice to be on the other side of that one. They got a taste of what winning was like and wanted more."
In the second set against the Vikings, Koester had a kill and Disch scored on a tip to give the Cheesemakers a 7-1 lead. The Vikings battled back to tie it at 11 and then took a 12-11 lead on an ace.
Murphy delivered two aces to help the Cheesemakers surge back to a a 15-12 lead. Jordan had back-to-back aces late in the first set to give the Cheesemakers a 19-13 lead. Barrett had a key block to help the Cheesemakers roll to a 22-14 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Barrett had a team-high 32 kills and 15.5 blocks for the tournament. Disch finished with 28 kills and 10 aces. Murphy had a team-high 37 assists and 14 aces.
"We built some confidence coming out on top," Disch said. "We haven't won very many matches. I think we all worked well together. I think we have more confidence now and we know we can get points with our serve because we have really good servers. Our goal was to win a couple of matches, do our best and place."
Monroe closed out the invite by defeating New Glarus 26-24, 25-16. The Glarner Knights finished the tournament 1-4 and took fifth place. New Glarus lost to Mount Horeb 25-20, 25-12 and then beat Watertown Luther Prep in three sets 22-25, 26-24, 15-10. The Glarner Knights (1-5) lost to Richland Center 25-14, 25-7 and lost to Wisconsin Heights 25-12, 25-21.
New Glarus sophomore Maddie Macht finished the tournament with a team-high 29 kills, 22 digs and four aces. New Glarus senior Sierra Watrud had a team-high 37 digs and junior Breanne Kreklow had 61 assists. Senior Jamie Statz had 14 kills and Sierra Macht had four blocks.
Serving was a weapon for the Cheesemakers and several teams in the tournament. Ward said the Cheesemakers took advantage of making the serve a factor in the matches by serving aggressively. Koester has been working on perfecting her jump serve.
"I have been working on my jump serve since my freshman year," Koester said. "It shows because that is what got me noticed by the Badger Region and I can hit on the outside as a lefty. They say the more movement, the greater chance of error. If you can serve with more top spin on the ball, low and hard that is the most aggressive serve. We have Whitney, Paige and myself who can put it down."
With a three-match winning streak, Koester looks forward to keeping the hot streak going.
"We definitely have the skill to become better," she said.
