BRODHEAD — Down two sets with its back against the wall, Brodhead won its last three games 25-20, 25-11, 15-11 against Belleville to claim a WIAA Division 3 regional championship on Saturday, Oct. 26.
“Our mentality is every time we step on the court, we have grit,” junior Brynn Riesterer said. “We started off slow, and as the game went on, we really controlled what we know Brodhead volleyball is about and picked our speed up.”
The Cardinals (14-13, 7-3 Rock Valley-Rock) dropped the first two sets to the Wildcats (22-11, 8-2 Capitol South) 25-21, 25-21, largely due to the presence of Belleville hitters and blockers Anna Alexander, Bree Ranguette, Bryn Prochaska and Maddi DeSmet.
But it was Brodhead’s seniors that steered their team back in the right direction — all beginning at the service line. A tip from Riesterer tied the third set at four and sent Ava Risum back to the line. She remained there for a 5-point rally, tallying two aces.
“Our two seniors (Makenna Schooff and Risum) did a great job of showing how to get a string of serves,” Brodhead head coach Erin Kammerer said. “It was contagious, and from there we flew.”
Brodhead’s lead reached eight points — its largest of the game at 14-6 — with an ace from Leah Rear and an attack error by Ranguette. Belleville rallied to knot the set at 18, but scored just two more points down the stretch. Meanwhile, Chesney Walker had two of the last three kills, sending it to a fourth game.
After an early 2-2 tie, Risum once again gave her team the lead with a pair of aces. Junior Allie Dahl extended that lead to 11-4, taking advantage of a Wildcat free ball. Out of Belleville’s timeout, Gretchen Kammerer kept the rally alive with back-to-back aces.
The Cardinal lead reached 10 points with a 4-1 run. Walker tallied a kill and combined with Addie Liefker for a block. Risum, sending a free ball over the net, managed to find a hole for another point. Leifker’s ensuing kill forced Belleville head coach John Pamperin to call a timeout with his team trailing 17-7.
The pause did little to slow the Cardinals, who closed the set on a 7-1 rally. Dahl’s tip kill sent the match to a winner-take-all fifth set.
There, Belleville was the first to reach 5 and 10 points — typically a good indication that the team would win the game — but Brodhead didn’t go away. The Cardinals got back into the set with a long-winded volley, digging out ball after ball before DeSmet’s attack went in the net for a Brodhead point.
Riesterer made it a 10-11 game, pushing the ball to the back row after getting blocked on her first attack. The point sent junior Laney Weis to the line, where she evened the score at 11 with an ace. She stayed at the line for the final points, serving her team to a regional championship.
“We had a lot of people come off the bench and work behind the line tonight,” Riesterer said. “Laney is one that really stood out. She was waiting for her moment. Her energy has been great from the bench all season, and the second she hit the floor she capitalized on her opportunity and took us to the fifth-set win.”
With the win, 2-seed Brodhead advances to a sectional semifinal game on Oct. 31 against 1-seed Abundant Life-Saint Ambrose (34-6, 6-0 Trailways South).
BRODHEAD 3, SHORELAND LUTHERAN 1
BRODHEAD — The Cardinals earned a spot in the regional final with a four-set win over the 7-seed Pacers (10-21, 2-5 Metro Classic) — 25-13, 25-21, 23-25, 25-9.
Dahl and Riesterer led the offense with 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Kammerer divvied the ball with 32 of the team’s 41 assists. Serving was once again a key point for Brodhead, who had 18 aces. Dahl had six of them followed by Leifker with four. Defensively four players had double-digit digs — Dahl (21), Risum (18), Leifker (14) and Kammerer (11).
BELLEVILLE 3, BIG FOOT 0
BELLEVILLE — The Wildcats, a 3-seed, swept 6-seed Big Foot for a spot in the regional final. All three games were highly contested — 25-21, 25-23, 25-22.
