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Cheesemakers open home dual schedule with loss to South Beloit in three sets
Monroe volleyball

MONROE — The Monroe Cheesemakers lost in three sets to the South Beloit Sobos in nonconference volleyball action Tues. Sept. 2. The Cheesemakers had a late lead in all three sets, but could not close it out.

In the first set, the Cheesemakers got a 15-12 lead on senior Riley Nicholson’s ace. A kill by senior Avery Kaiser put the Cheesemakers up 21-15. After a pair of service errors on the Sobos, Monroe had a 23-18 lead. But, a block kill by the Sobos and two aces by Macey Lineman of South Beloit erased the Cheesemakers lead. Lineman delivered an ace that landed just inside the deep right corner to give the Sobos the win in the first set, 25-23.

In the second set, neither team could get more than a two point lead. A side out tied the set at 15-15 and a kill by senior Mya Wild tied it at 16-16. A kill by senior Shannon Weber gave Monroe a 19-18 lead. The Cheesemakers took another late lead on an ace by senior Kennedy Voegeli at 23-22. But, the Sobos got the next three points to win the second set, 25-23.

The Cheesemakers needed a win in the third set but were denied by South Beloit. With the scored tied at 3-3, Weber scored three straight aces to give the Cheesemakers a 6-3 lead. A side out increased the Cheesemakers lead to 8-4. South Beloit charged back and took a 12-10 lead. Nicholson’s kill pulled Monroe to within 12-11. The Sobos scored the next five points to grab a 17-12 lead. Keiser’s kill brought Monroe to within 20-17 and Monroe began a comeback. A pair of aces got the Cheese to 22-20 and Wild nearly got a third straight ace but the Sobos got a save and scored the next point to take a 23-20 lead and the Cheesemakers (0-5) never recovered as the Sobos got the next two points to win 25-20. 

Cheesemaker coach Cassie Wittman noted the razor-thin difference in winning and losing with the Cheesemakers needing experience to close out tight matches. 

“Last year, we had a lot of close matches that we were within a few points and that made a difference over the season. Now, we know the things we need to get better on and hopefully we can change for Thursday’s match,” said Wittmann.