BRODHEAD — The Cardinals saw their season come to a surprise end in the WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinals with a heartbreaking five set loss to Cuba City Oct. 28. The Cubans rallied to win 13-25, 27-25, 19-25, 26-24, 17-15. Two years ago Brodhead defeated the Cubans in a regional final in five sets on the same court.
The opening set was dominated by Brodhead. Back-to-back kills by Abbie Dix and Alexis Kammerer, and an ace from Onni Oliver put the Cardinals ahead to stay at 8-4. Dix finished the set with six kills, while Addison Yates had five and McKenna Young added three.
In the second set, a five-point run at the service line by Cuba City’s Paige Beau pushed the Cubans in front early on. Brodhead trailed 14-21, but Dix and Yates took over at the net and rallied the Cardinals back, tying it at 24-24. The Cubans were able to close it out, however, evening the match at a set apiece.
In the third set, Brodhead got off to a hot start thanks to Kaidynce Bevars’ 7-point run at the service line, and continued pouring it on until taking a 2-games-to-1 advantage.
In the fourth set, the teams again battled into extras. Brodhead had again rallied late, going from down 17-23 to tying it up at 24, only for the Cubans to force the tie-breaking fifth set anyways.
In the fifth set, Oliver tallied three aces as Brodhead jumped out to a 6-1 advantage. Cuba City was able to rally back and tie it at 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15. Haley Stitch then aced a serve to put the Cubans ahead. Following a timeout, Kirsten Fish of Brodhead sent a spike towards the ground, but Stich laid out for a dig, keeping play alive. As the ball returned to the Cardinals side, Kammerer went to set up Yates for a spike, but Yates slipped and clipped the net, ending the match and Brodhead’s season.
Dix finished the night with 32 kills and six blocks. Beavers tallied nine aces and 16 digs. Oliver finished with four aces, while Kammerer had two aces, nine digs and 66 assists. Yates added 14 kills, and Young finished the night with 11 kills.
— Thomas Gunnell contributed to this report
