MONROE — After an abysmal start, the Cheesemakers volleyball team was given a choice of how they wanted to finish a nonconference match with Parkview Sept. 10.
After dropping the first two sets 17-25, 18-25, coach Heidi Witt asked her squad if they “wanted to be here tonight — if they wanted to win?” The girls all said yes.
“But what they were showing us was not anything that looked very similar to wanting to win,” Witt said. “We gave them two choices — go back out on the court and keep playing the way we were playing and make this a short night or go back out on the court with a different mindset, with a different energy, with the belief they could turn things around and play our game.”
The team rose to the challenge and won the next three sets 25-20, 25-21, 15-11.
“It was an exciting 3 sets for sure. I think the thing we are most proud of is that we didn’t throw in the towel after the first two sets,” Witt said.
The varsity squad’s normal routine was thrown off a bit, playing at 5:30 instead of the normal 7 p.m. time slot, but Witt said the team wouldn’t use that as an excuse for not playing their best.
When the Cheesemakers finally woke up on the court, it was both the defensive and offensive attack that shone throughout the gym. Cassi Gersbach finished with 21 kills to lead all hitters, and she added three blocks. Chloe Bunker and Makayla Harrow each had three blocks, while Bunker finished with nine kills.
“Cassi Gersbach found her groove hitting on the outside and out of the back row thanks to some well-placed sets by Lily Frehner,” Witt said. “But that all doesn’t happen if our passing isn’t on target, which it was for the most part.”
Frehner finished with 29 assists and nine digs. Bri Seagreaves and Alyse Maurer each had 12 digs. Seagreaves and Frehner each had a pair of aces, while Katie Hayes had three aces and five kills.
“Alyse Maurer was pretty accurate in serve-receive tonight. We had some great hustle plays from Bri Seagreaves as well, which kept the ball in play. It was a great team effort, and everyone played ‘all-in’ to get this win,” Witt said.
Pecatonica 3, Albany 0
BLANCHARDVILLE — The Vikings picked up a conference win Sept. 10 25-20, 25-16, 25-15.
Niveah Gross and Lily Busser each had 14 digs for the Vikings, while Val Carr finished with six aces. Sydney Eaton had five kills, six assists and three blocks for Pecatonica, with teammate Lexi Peterson also finishing with five kills.
Albany was led by Brianna Dahl, who had seven kills, six blocks and four aces. Cindy Detra also had four aces, while Kaitlyn Dunphy dished out seven assists and Peyton Pendergrass had 14 digs.
Monticello 3, Juda 1
MONTICELLO — The Ponies picked up a crucial early-season Six Rivers East win Sept. 10, defeating Juda 25-11, 25-10, 19-25, 25-14.
Ellie Gustafson led Monticello with 15 kills and five aces, while Mackie Errthum finished with seven kills. Alexa Siegenthaler had 23 assists for the Ponies, and Maggie Bak blocked three shots.
“Sarah Blumer served nine serves in a row in the second set,” Monticello coach Rebecca Gustafson said. The Ponies improve to 2-0 in conference play.
Jocelyn Rufer led Juda with six kills and a block. Montana Steinmann and Maddie Smith each had five assists, while Steinmann had five aces.
Argyle 3, Barneveld 0
ARGYLE — The Orioles swept the Eagles 25-17, 25-19, 25-20 Sept. 10.
Grace Ganshert finished with 24 digs and nine kills, while Claudia Miller had 24 digs. Tori Lantz had five blocks for Argyle, while teammate Maggie Godfrey had eight kills and four aces and Megan Johnson finished with 22 assists.
In other area matches Sept. 10, Iowa-Grant beat Darlington 3-2, while New Glarus was swept by No. 2-ranked Waterloo 3-0. On Sept. 5, Black Hawk swept Barneveld 3-0, and at the Richland Center Tournament Sept. 7, Black Hawk went 2-3 overall and won the Bronze Bracket, beating Darlington 25-17, 25-21 in the final.
