SOUTH WAYNE — Two dates were circled on almost everyone’s volleyball calendars this fall — the home-and-away matches for Black Hawk and Monticello.

The Warriors swept the Ponies on the road earlier this season, but the second contest wouldn’t come so easy. Black Hawk had to rally at home after dropping the first two sets to win in five, 20-25, 18-25, 27-25, 26-24, 15-4.

“They gave us even a little bit more than we had anticipated. What a great team they are,” Black Hawk coach Rachel Wolff said of Monticello. “We were very fortunate to come out of here with a win.”

The Ponies came out swinging and put Black Hawk on its heals early. The Warriors had to miss two weeks of action due to the COVID-19 pandemic late in the season, and had only played in formal contests two days before. Meanwhile, Monticello never had to shut down.

“I’m glad that we had this type of challenge, just because with the two weeks off that we had, I really think that this, you know, enlightened them that we need to get going here, otherwise we could get nipped — and that’s not something that we want,” said Wolff.

The opening set saw Monticello race out to a 5-1 lead. The advantage reached six points at 14-8 and then again at 22-16. Keying the run was a pair of blocks from junior Hannah Clark, which brought added fire to those in the crowd backing the blue jerseys.

“Those blocks are momentum getters, and it got them rattled and we could start swinging,” Monticello coach Rebecca Gustafson said. “They were laying off and making unforced errors — when does Black Hawk ever make unforced errors? They were on their heals and we were pounding.”

Black Hawk got back to as close as two at 22-20, that’s when Gustafson called a timeout to regroup her squad. Delenn Gillaspie then got a side-out on a block, and the Warriors failed to return a volley on the next possession and were then called for a net violation to end the set.

The mental lapse on the net violation was one of many errors on the night for the Warriors, an uncommon occurrence by one of the state’s premier programs over the past two-plus decades.

“It was just really nerve-racking, but we knew we just had to keep on hitting at them — because they were hitting at us and we just weren’t executing,” said Black Hawk senior Bailey Butler.

In the second set, the Warriors led 6-2 early on and then 9-5. The Ponies then launched an offensive and tore off a 10-2 to take a 4-point lead of their own. After some back-and-forth side-outs, the Ponies closed the set on a 6-2 run to take a 2-0 lead in the contest.

It was the first time all season Black Hawk had dropped two sets. In fact, the Warriors hadn’t lost a conference match dating back to the 2017 season.

“I could not be more proud of every single girl out there,” Gustafson said.

Black Hawk maintained a steady lead throughout much of the third set, leading 18-14 at one point. However, a 6-0 run with Katelyn Eyler notching two aces at the service line put the Warriors behind by 20-18. Black Hawk was able to battle back, tying the score at 21 before earning the win.

The fourth set saw the two teams play even for much of the frame. With the two teams squared away at 17, the Warriors rolled off a 6-point run to make it 23-17, forcing Gustafson to call both timeouts within moments of each other.

The Ponies didn’t fold, peeling off a 7-1 run to tie the score at 24, putting Black Hawk on its heals again — this time with a failed return and thrice miscommunicating on the offensive end, letting the ball fall to the court.

“Sometimes it wasn’t pretty. We can’t have that kind of miscommunication and getting tangled up like that down the road,” Wolff said. “It’s only going to get harder from here. We’ve got to eliminate those unforced errors and that miscommunication.”

Makayla Mau hammered home a kill to put the Warriors up 25-24, and Monticello failed to return a volley in the next serve, evening the game-score.

At that point, the Ponies had simply run out of gas, while the Warriors turned to its plethora of well-experienced seniors.

“They (Black Hawk) are mentally tough,” Gustafson said. “That’s what they do. They refuse to lose. They do what they have to do. It’s disappointing from our end, but we respect those girls and I have the utmost respect for coach Wolff. She’s been able to do this for what, 27, 30 years and have 300 wins? She always has them ready.”

Butler, Black Hawk’s senior leader and future UW-Green Bay basketball player, has dominated the varsity sports season in volleyball, basketball and softball in each season at the school, which has included two trips to the basketball state tournament — once of which bringing home a gold ball. 

“It helps so much just because I can keep my composure,” Butler said. 

In the fifth set, with the Six Rivers East Conference championship on the line, Butler’s focus and determination was noticeable throughout the gym. Her passing helped set up the 6-2 Mau for power kills and blocks, and Butler scored two of her team’s final four points on kills of her own, sealing the match.

“It was a huge win just because they are a great team and we needed a full match. We haven’t gotten one all season, and now we experienced it. Now we’re ready for playoffs,” Butler said.

Butler finished the night with 22 kills and 12 digs. Tara Wellnitz led Black Hawk with three blocks, while Macie Stauffacher collected three aces and 20 assists.

Monticello was led by Ellie Gustafson, who recorded 26 kills and 20 digs in the match. Clark added eight kills and six blocks, while Eyler had six aces. Macey Grant dug out 24 balls, and Alexa Siegenthaler dished out 28 assists. 

“We definitely were coming in ready to play and push hard so we could beat them,” Siegenthaler said.

Black Hawk 3, Juda 0

SOUTH WAYNE — Prior to the Monticello match, the Warriors faced Juda and won 25-8, 25-12, 25-9.

The Panthers opened the night on a 3-0 run, but Black Hawk took 14 of the next 15 points. The Warriors then finished the opening set on a 6-0 run.

“Black Hawk has a lot of seniors, a lot of really good players, so we do our best and try to get better,” Juda coach Maren Huntsman said.

The second set wasn’t any kinder to Juda, with the Warriors opening on a 9-0 run and then maintaining a lead of 8 or more points the rest of the way.

The third set started with Black Hawk going up 7-0 thanks to two aces from Stauffacher and two monster kills from Mau. The lead reached 11-1 after two kills by Butler and a Mau ace. 

The best run of the night for Juda came late in the set, trailing 18-4. The Panthers rattled off five straight points thanks to a pair of aces from Jocelyn Rufer. 

Black Hawk got a side-out on a short serve and, with Butler at the service line, finished off the Panthers with another 6-0 run.

“We had some more of our younger freshmen playing today to gain some more experience — and that’s what it’s all about. We were trying out some different rotations getting ready for tomorrow,” Huntsman said of the playoff matchup with Sheboygan Christian. “Working on those hits, working on those off shots — That’s what a lot of this is — it’s learning and it’s growing and it’s all part of the experience.”