EDGERTON - Monroe's volleyball team entered Saturday's Division 2 regional final on a roll, having won six of its final eight Badger South matches after starting 0-4 and advancing through two postseason rounds.
But one of the Cheesemakers' problems all season has been stopping teams on a roll. Edgerton quickly figured out that weakness.
"We have a tendency to get into holes, and tonight we couldn't pop out of them," Monroe senior hitter Jamie Armstrong said after Edgerton's 25-10, 25-9, 25-18 win.
"They are very talented," Armstrong said. "We can't take anything away from them because they are a great team."
Edgerton, the regional's top seed, always had a tall, dominating player at the net. Twin sisters Bethany and Katie Wedvick combined for more than 30 points. With standout defenders in the back court, the Wedvicks never had trouble getting time to either slam a spike or loft a tip into no-man's land.
"Never have we seen a couple of sisters who can go up so big. We adjusted for them, but (Edgerton has) a lot of weapons ," Monroe head coach Dave Gersbach said. "(The sisters) have been playing together forever and that's apparent. Imagine if we had another Jamie. We're fortunate to have the two Armstrong sisters, but they don't have the same age and experience. That makes for a tough 1-2 punch."
By the time Monroe figured out the tip was a viable option, the Tiders' twin towers unleashed fury, spiking so hard that the ball routinely wound up hitting the ceiling or going deep into the stands when a Cheesemaker defender attempted to dig.
"That was tough," senior Abby Kennison said. "We knew they were going to come into town hard every time at the net. We couldn't get our touches on it and every time we sent it over to them they got a touch. They just got it up and over (and) set it up for their big girls to slam it down. They have some good stuff over there."
In the first game, Edgerton went on an early 11-3 run to take a 14-5 lead, and finished on an 11-5 run.
"We didn't bring it," senior hitter Chelsea Wyss said.
"There's no excuses for it. We we're ready for the intensity that they had and we didn't react to it," Armstrong added.
In game two, Monroe hung in for the first few points, keeping the score even at 4-4. A block by Katie Wedvick started another five-point run. Moments later, the match was delayed nearly 10 minutes because Monroe was out of rotation, costing the Cheesemakers a timeout.
The delay worked in the short term, as Monroe rattled off three straight points, including an Armstrong kill and a block by Chrissy Marti.
That's when the tsunami rolled in. Armstrong sent a tip out of bounds to give the ball back to Edgerton. Bethany Wedvick then had three kills and three blocks, and the Tiders finished Game 2 on a 15-1 run, including nine in a row to close.
"When we got down, it was really hard, because we just wanted to win so badly," Marti said.
Monroe looked as strong as it could have in the final game, jumping out to a 4-2 lead and holding a 6-5 advantage. But four straight mistakes put the Cheesemakers in another hole. A sideout kill by Armstrong and an ace by Marti brought the score back to 9-8, but that was as close as Monroe would get.
"They made us make mistakes. They executed and were consistent. They are a really good team, there's no doubt about that," Gersbach said.
Edgerton rattled off two strings of five points, which were split up because of a kill by Kyleigh Sellnow. The Wedvick sisters had six of the 10 points.
As Game 3 wound down, Monroe found itself in a devastating hole, trailing 24-11. A sideout because of a deep return gave Jessica Wyssbrod one last chance to bring the score closer. Wyssbrod sent up seven straight serves, gaining an ace, and Monroe brought the score back to 24-18 before a Bethany Wedvick kill nipped the sideline to end the match.
"We had nothing to lose at that point. It was exciting, because we thought we could come back," Wyssbrod said. "We couldn't pull it off, but we had a lot of heart."
Monroe's season ends as one of the best in recent memory. After years of futility, the Cheesemakers went .500 in conference back-to-back years, and reached a rare regional final.
"I've never played in a regional final before," Wyssbrod said. "This was a highlight for me. I'll definitely remember how close we were as a team and beating Edgewood."
"The girls worked hard at it. They deserved to get to this point. There's just a little more confidence and this is where they deserved to be," Gersbach said. "I'm very proud with what they've done this season and how they composed themselves."
The team looked to its chemistry as the reason for success, with all six seniors mentioning how close of friends everyone was.
"I've played on a lot of volleyball teams. This team, we are so close. I will remember this year forever because we are so close to each other," Kennison said.
"I'm really going to miss the team, with all the memories we made and as far as we came," Wyss said.
After the last point fell, Carlee Latimer, a senior, teared up with her teammates. Ten minutes later, with a sea of Cheesemaker fans surrounding the team taking pictures, Latimer didn't feel as bad.
"We're surrounded by all of these people who have been to our games and have seen us grow this season. They are really proud of us and what we've accomplished this season," she said.
Armstrong, who will play at George Washington University in 2010, was glad she could spend the season playing alongside both her friends and her younger sister, Becca, a freshman.
"This made the year for me. Being able to play with my sister and all my friends, because we are all so close, and to make it this far is a beautiful feeling," Jamie said.
Coach Gersbach had the final words of the evening, thanking his senior class for its dedication and hard work.
"I have nothing but great things to say about this group of senior girls. They worked so hard and I'm going to miss them."
But one of the Cheesemakers' problems all season has been stopping teams on a roll. Edgerton quickly figured out that weakness.
"We have a tendency to get into holes, and tonight we couldn't pop out of them," Monroe senior hitter Jamie Armstrong said after Edgerton's 25-10, 25-9, 25-18 win.
"They are very talented," Armstrong said. "We can't take anything away from them because they are a great team."
Edgerton, the regional's top seed, always had a tall, dominating player at the net. Twin sisters Bethany and Katie Wedvick combined for more than 30 points. With standout defenders in the back court, the Wedvicks never had trouble getting time to either slam a spike or loft a tip into no-man's land.
"Never have we seen a couple of sisters who can go up so big. We adjusted for them, but (Edgerton has) a lot of weapons ," Monroe head coach Dave Gersbach said. "(The sisters) have been playing together forever and that's apparent. Imagine if we had another Jamie. We're fortunate to have the two Armstrong sisters, but they don't have the same age and experience. That makes for a tough 1-2 punch."
By the time Monroe figured out the tip was a viable option, the Tiders' twin towers unleashed fury, spiking so hard that the ball routinely wound up hitting the ceiling or going deep into the stands when a Cheesemaker defender attempted to dig.
"That was tough," senior Abby Kennison said. "We knew they were going to come into town hard every time at the net. We couldn't get our touches on it and every time we sent it over to them they got a touch. They just got it up and over (and) set it up for their big girls to slam it down. They have some good stuff over there."
In the first game, Edgerton went on an early 11-3 run to take a 14-5 lead, and finished on an 11-5 run.
"We didn't bring it," senior hitter Chelsea Wyss said.
"There's no excuses for it. We we're ready for the intensity that they had and we didn't react to it," Armstrong added.
In game two, Monroe hung in for the first few points, keeping the score even at 4-4. A block by Katie Wedvick started another five-point run. Moments later, the match was delayed nearly 10 minutes because Monroe was out of rotation, costing the Cheesemakers a timeout.
The delay worked in the short term, as Monroe rattled off three straight points, including an Armstrong kill and a block by Chrissy Marti.
That's when the tsunami rolled in. Armstrong sent a tip out of bounds to give the ball back to Edgerton. Bethany Wedvick then had three kills and three blocks, and the Tiders finished Game 2 on a 15-1 run, including nine in a row to close.
"When we got down, it was really hard, because we just wanted to win so badly," Marti said.
Monroe looked as strong as it could have in the final game, jumping out to a 4-2 lead and holding a 6-5 advantage. But four straight mistakes put the Cheesemakers in another hole. A sideout kill by Armstrong and an ace by Marti brought the score back to 9-8, but that was as close as Monroe would get.
"They made us make mistakes. They executed and were consistent. They are a really good team, there's no doubt about that," Gersbach said.
Edgerton rattled off two strings of five points, which were split up because of a kill by Kyleigh Sellnow. The Wedvick sisters had six of the 10 points.
As Game 3 wound down, Monroe found itself in a devastating hole, trailing 24-11. A sideout because of a deep return gave Jessica Wyssbrod one last chance to bring the score closer. Wyssbrod sent up seven straight serves, gaining an ace, and Monroe brought the score back to 24-18 before a Bethany Wedvick kill nipped the sideline to end the match.
"We had nothing to lose at that point. It was exciting, because we thought we could come back," Wyssbrod said. "We couldn't pull it off, but we had a lot of heart."
Monroe's season ends as one of the best in recent memory. After years of futility, the Cheesemakers went .500 in conference back-to-back years, and reached a rare regional final.
"I've never played in a regional final before," Wyssbrod said. "This was a highlight for me. I'll definitely remember how close we were as a team and beating Edgewood."
"The girls worked hard at it. They deserved to get to this point. There's just a little more confidence and this is where they deserved to be," Gersbach said. "I'm very proud with what they've done this season and how they composed themselves."
The team looked to its chemistry as the reason for success, with all six seniors mentioning how close of friends everyone was.
"I've played on a lot of volleyball teams. This team, we are so close. I will remember this year forever because we are so close to each other," Kennison said.
"I'm really going to miss the team, with all the memories we made and as far as we came," Wyss said.
After the last point fell, Carlee Latimer, a senior, teared up with her teammates. Ten minutes later, with a sea of Cheesemaker fans surrounding the team taking pictures, Latimer didn't feel as bad.
"We're surrounded by all of these people who have been to our games and have seen us grow this season. They are really proud of us and what we've accomplished this season," she said.
Armstrong, who will play at George Washington University in 2010, was glad she could spend the season playing alongside both her friends and her younger sister, Becca, a freshman.
"This made the year for me. Being able to play with my sister and all my friends, because we are all so close, and to make it this far is a beautiful feeling," Jamie said.
Coach Gersbach had the final words of the evening, thanking his senior class for its dedication and hard work.
"I have nothing but great things to say about this group of senior girls. They worked so hard and I'm going to miss them."
