MONROE - Senior night didn't go so well for the eight seniors on Monroe's roster. The Cheesemakers were swept out of their own gym by Fort Atkinson in straight sets, 25-17, 25-16, 25-19.
"Tonight we threw some different things out there. We started the night with all seniors," Monroe head coach Dave Gersbach said. "We responded well in the beginning, but when we got into the later rotations we had a little bit of a breakdown.
"I was pleased with our effort. We're going to continue to work strong to go into regionals."
All night the Cheesemakers struggled from the service line, especially getting the ball back across the net. In all three games Monroe was within a handful of points at the midway point before falling flat on their backs to close it out.
"We played well together, but we just needed that little consolidation. We still need to hold on to that momentum and get a little bit more of a push," Gersbach said. "We just didn't execute on our sides-out."
In the second game the Cheesemakers trailed 8-7 before Fort Atkinson went on a 7-0 run behind the serving of Maddie Podmolik. Monroe nearly caught up to the Blackhawks at 16-13, but then let the game slip away with Fort Atkinson taking eight of the next nine points.
"It's tough when we don't stay with a side-out ball. We stay there in the beginning, but then we drop one, two points and we lose a lot of confidence," Gersbach said. "We just have to really dig deep and step it up. They (the Cheesemakers) are much better players than they play sometimes. If we had that confidence the whole night we'd be a much stronger squad."
In the third game, senior Alexis Rast helped Monroe gain a little bit of early momentum. Trailing 2-1, Rast scored on a spike kill and then converted back-to-back aces, putting Monroe up 4-2.
The Blackhawks (11-5, 4-5 Badger South) rebounded with solid play at the net on both offense and defense, as well as at the service line to take a 12-7 lead. The Cheesemakers failed to keep the ball on each of their side outs at that point.
"It's a little tough. Sometimes our communication starts to stop and slip," Monroe senior Jaclyn Ditter said. "But we're all doing our best out there and not trying to mess up."
The Cheesemakers lingered, keeping he score tight deep into the set. A big kill by Ditter brought it back to a one-point game at 16-15, but Fort Atkinson's Lauren Pfeifer had two straight blocks on the same play to get a side-out. From there, the Blackhawks dominated and finished the match on a 9-4 run to end the night.
"The other teams have some great players and it's really fun to go back and forth with them," Ditter said of the Badger South Conference.
Gersbach wanted to thank the large crowd that showed up to the game.
"I was really pleased that everyone was able to come out and wish these seniors well. I am very pleased with these seniors and I'm going to miss them a lot. They're a great group of girls," Gersbach said.
Monroe (8-17, 1-10) travels to Oregon (7-6, 5-5) Oct. 12 for its final match of the regular season. Playoffs open up Oct. 19, and the Cheesemakers will likely be on the road.
Gersbach said he will have the team working on, "getting our blocks closed and reading our blocks better," before the start of playoffs.
"That will leave a lot of opportunities for our back row. We've got good diggers, but its tough to read when we're losing our attackers and we're not getting a solid block up," Gersbach said.
For the seniors, playoffs is bittersweet. The excitement level of the tournament is unmatched, but seniors know that each day could be their last in a uniform.
"It really makes you want to push hard, because you don't want it to be your last game. You want to end with a win," Ditter said.
"Tonight we threw some different things out there. We started the night with all seniors," Monroe head coach Dave Gersbach said. "We responded well in the beginning, but when we got into the later rotations we had a little bit of a breakdown.
"I was pleased with our effort. We're going to continue to work strong to go into regionals."
All night the Cheesemakers struggled from the service line, especially getting the ball back across the net. In all three games Monroe was within a handful of points at the midway point before falling flat on their backs to close it out.
"We played well together, but we just needed that little consolidation. We still need to hold on to that momentum and get a little bit more of a push," Gersbach said. "We just didn't execute on our sides-out."
In the second game the Cheesemakers trailed 8-7 before Fort Atkinson went on a 7-0 run behind the serving of Maddie Podmolik. Monroe nearly caught up to the Blackhawks at 16-13, but then let the game slip away with Fort Atkinson taking eight of the next nine points.
"It's tough when we don't stay with a side-out ball. We stay there in the beginning, but then we drop one, two points and we lose a lot of confidence," Gersbach said. "We just have to really dig deep and step it up. They (the Cheesemakers) are much better players than they play sometimes. If we had that confidence the whole night we'd be a much stronger squad."
In the third game, senior Alexis Rast helped Monroe gain a little bit of early momentum. Trailing 2-1, Rast scored on a spike kill and then converted back-to-back aces, putting Monroe up 4-2.
The Blackhawks (11-5, 4-5 Badger South) rebounded with solid play at the net on both offense and defense, as well as at the service line to take a 12-7 lead. The Cheesemakers failed to keep the ball on each of their side outs at that point.
"It's a little tough. Sometimes our communication starts to stop and slip," Monroe senior Jaclyn Ditter said. "But we're all doing our best out there and not trying to mess up."
The Cheesemakers lingered, keeping he score tight deep into the set. A big kill by Ditter brought it back to a one-point game at 16-15, but Fort Atkinson's Lauren Pfeifer had two straight blocks on the same play to get a side-out. From there, the Blackhawks dominated and finished the match on a 9-4 run to end the night.
"The other teams have some great players and it's really fun to go back and forth with them," Ditter said of the Badger South Conference.
Gersbach wanted to thank the large crowd that showed up to the game.
"I was really pleased that everyone was able to come out and wish these seniors well. I am very pleased with these seniors and I'm going to miss them a lot. They're a great group of girls," Gersbach said.
Monroe (8-17, 1-10) travels to Oregon (7-6, 5-5) Oct. 12 for its final match of the regular season. Playoffs open up Oct. 19, and the Cheesemakers will likely be on the road.
Gersbach said he will have the team working on, "getting our blocks closed and reading our blocks better," before the start of playoffs.
"That will leave a lot of opportunities for our back row. We've got good diggers, but its tough to read when we're losing our attackers and we're not getting a solid block up," Gersbach said.
For the seniors, playoffs is bittersweet. The excitement level of the tournament is unmatched, but seniors know that each day could be their last in a uniform.
"It really makes you want to push hard, because you don't want it to be your last game. You want to end with a win," Ditter said.
