BRODHEAD — It was a banner night for the Cardinals on Sept. 30. Not only did they decimate Clinton 25-6, 25-9, 25-2, but it was announced junior setter Alexis Kammerer had become the third player in school history to surpass 2,000 career assists.
“I was shocked — I didn’t even know. That’s all on my teammates, because they apparently knew,” Kammerer said.
On Sept. 16 in a win over Jefferson, Kammerer joined former Cardinal stars Cassie (Wymer) Wittmann (Class of 2009) and current Viterbo junior Abbey Johnson (Class of 2019).
“Coaching your daughter isn’t as easy as I was hoping it would be, but to celebrate these things is pretty special for us,” said Erin Kammerer, Brodhead coach and Alexis’ mother. “She had the advantage of being in the gym and watching how Abbey Johnson ran the floor. (Alexis) has been with me since we started (coaching), and I think that was her initial eye-opening — she saw what Abbey did and wanted to follow in those footsteps. From there she just kind of created her own identity with it.”
Erin Kammerer said her daughter’s teammates all mesh well and stick up for each other. When Alexis passed the 2,000-assist threshold, there was no celebration for the individual achievement. Her teammates secretly convinced their coach to honor Alexis.
“I’m humbled by her teammates — they were the ones that pushed for this (recognition). I pushed them off for a while to not celebrate when she got it, because we don’t do a lot of individual stuff, because I believe in the team aspects, but they were very persistent about honoring that,” coach Kammerer said.
Alexis and her classmates have seen their share of success, in part because of their singular abilities, and in part because of their camaraderie and chemistry on the court.
“It means a lot (to get to 2,000), but it also is because of the people around me. I wouldn’t be where I am without people pushing me every day in practice,” Alexis said.
“The girls get along so well, and they really are about ‘team’. That’s my No. 1 priority — that we all matter and it takes every one of us, and I think they do a good job of supporting each other,” coach Kammerer said. “Their chemistry is great. These girls genuinely care for each other, and that’s what makes coaching fun.”
Abbie Dix, also a junior, joined Alexis Kammerer with all-state honors from the alternate fall season this past spring, in which the pair helped lead the Cardinals to the Division 2 state championship. Both players are full-rotation pieces, and the Cardinals have the ability to sub in all 14 players on the varsity roster with little strife.
“We used the offseason to recover, but we still worked on our skills. Once the season started up again, we refocused and picked up with the energy we left with,” Dix said.
Against Clinton, Dix had 11 kills, three blocks and four aces — all of which came within the span of eight serves in the second set, including three in a row. Alexis Kammerer had 29 assists, nine digs, five kills and three aces. Onni Oliver added a pair of aces and Kirsten Fish finished with seven kills.
The rout of Clinton allowed each player to see the court with ample time, including at positions they would normally be subbed out for. Oliver was the libero a season ago, and is usually a defensive replacement. She was allowed to play up at the net and smashed a kill herself, sending her teammates into a frenzy.
“It was so fun getting everyone to show the talent that they have,” Dix said.
The Cardinals opened the third set on a 15-0 run, and only gave the side-out back when Oliver tried to sneak a serve in down the inside line, missing by mere inches at most.
Brodhead, ranked No. 9 in D3, and McFarland, No. 4 in D2, are the lone unbeatens in the Rock Valley. The two will meet up in the final game of the conference slate Oct. 7, with the league title on the line.
“Just one game at a time. We won’t be able to get there if we don’t finish the job on the way,” Alexis said.
