MAZOMANIE - Monroe's volleyball team took first place Saturday in the silver division at the Wisconsin Heights invitational.
"It was a long day," Cheesemakers head coach Dave Gersbach said. "The girls did good. They stayed strong."
Monroe opened the tournament with a 25-21, 25-23 win over Fennimore. In the second game, the Cheesemakers defeated Platteville 25-17, 25-16.
Against defending state champion and host Wisconsin Heights, Monroe lost 21-25, 17-25. That put the Lady Cheese in a three-way tie with Platteville and Monticello. A 25-5, 25-12 win over the Ponies put Monroe in position to finish the day well.
The second time around against Platteville, the Cheese needed three games to close the deal. After winning the first game 25-17, Monroe lost 22-25 to the Hillmen. In the third and final game, the Cheesemakers finished on top, 15-6.
"We started the day slow. We were a bit hesitant," Gersbach said. "As we continued, we started loosening up, relaxing a little bit and let the game come to us."
As usual, Monroe senior Jamie Armstrong was the Cheesemakers' star.
"Jamie is obviously our big senior leader. Against Monticello, she had 15 or 17 straight jump serves - many of them aces. She is our go-to person, our pillar of strength," Gersbach said.
Also impressing the second-year head coach was junior hitter Jaclyn Ditter and sophomore libero Gracie Schilt.
"Jaclyn is starting to step it up for us," Gersbach said, adding that Schilt is giving the team a nice spark off the bench.
Monroe will host conference foe Fort Atkinson on Tuesday.
"It was a long day," Cheesemakers head coach Dave Gersbach said. "The girls did good. They stayed strong."
Monroe opened the tournament with a 25-21, 25-23 win over Fennimore. In the second game, the Cheesemakers defeated Platteville 25-17, 25-16.
Against defending state champion and host Wisconsin Heights, Monroe lost 21-25, 17-25. That put the Lady Cheese in a three-way tie with Platteville and Monticello. A 25-5, 25-12 win over the Ponies put Monroe in position to finish the day well.
The second time around against Platteville, the Cheese needed three games to close the deal. After winning the first game 25-17, Monroe lost 22-25 to the Hillmen. In the third and final game, the Cheesemakers finished on top, 15-6.
"We started the day slow. We were a bit hesitant," Gersbach said. "As we continued, we started loosening up, relaxing a little bit and let the game come to us."
As usual, Monroe senior Jamie Armstrong was the Cheesemakers' star.
"Jamie is obviously our big senior leader. Against Monticello, she had 15 or 17 straight jump serves - many of them aces. She is our go-to person, our pillar of strength," Gersbach said.
Also impressing the second-year head coach was junior hitter Jaclyn Ditter and sophomore libero Gracie Schilt.
"Jaclyn is starting to step it up for us," Gersbach said, adding that Schilt is giving the team a nice spark off the bench.
Monroe will host conference foe Fort Atkinson on Tuesday.
