MONROE — With a 3-0 win over Clinton on Monday, Oct. 9, Monroe ended its regular season on a two-game winning streak. In fact, of the Cheesemakers’ six wins this season, four of them have occurred in the last two weeks.
“We got to show everybody that we are more than what they say we are,” senior Chloe Fry said.
Clinton and Monroe tied the first set up four times early on, but Fry’s kill sparked a four-point rally. The Cougars were then called for a double, and Sophie Golembiewski smashed a kill. Laurel Sheaffer capped the run with a service ace that just snagged the right line.
Although Clinton tied the set again at eight, Mya Wild gave Monroe the edge with a kill from the left side. The Cheesemakers scored their next five points on Cougar errors before Sheaffer’s kill gave them a 15-11 advantage.
With an attack error on Mallory Skinkus and Golembiewski block on an overpass, Clinton head coach Sara Douglas called her first timeout. Another two errors and two kills from Courtney Hartwig set Monroe up for set point. The Cougars held off the Cheesemakers for two points, but Wild put the set away, 25-21, with a kill.
“It was very bitter sweet,” Fry said, referring to her fellow teammates’ performances on Senior Night. “It made us think of all the memories that we have together. It was good to watch all of us play our best.”
Clinton came back to tie the set at five, six and seven all before a four-point rally gave Monroe an 11-7 advantage. Golembiewski found a hole in the Cougar defense with a tip kill, and Riley Nicholson followed with a service ace. Flustered, Clinton committed back-to-back attack errors, forcing a timeout.
Although the Cougars hung around, the Cheesemakers went on a decisive seven-point run that solidified the set victory. After a Sheaffer kill from the middle, Hartwig went to the service line for the next six points. The Cougars committed four errors in that span, while Hartwig tallied two aces.
A service error from Hartwig ended the run with Monroe leading 23-13. The Cheesemakers finished the set, 25-17, with a Cougar error and kill from Golembiewski.
With victory in sight, Monroe began to falter.
“The biggest thing is staying consistent in our discipline and defense,” Monroe head coach Cassie Wittman said. “We passed really good last week, and tonight we were so-so. That’s not going to get us anywhere next week come tournament time. We need to step it up and not be okay with just an okay pass.”
Monroe and Clinton tied the set four times early on before Monroe went on a 7-2 run. Bartholf caught the defense napping, sneaking a tip over on the second ball. Down the stretch, she served up two aces for a 13-8 advantage, forcing a Cougar timeout.
Clinton rallied to tie the set again at 15. Out of the break, Carly Beals recorded a kill, followed by an ace from Cailin Mansfield. The Cheesemakers aided the Cougar run with a service error, double and miscommunication.
The two teams traded eight points back and forth, but Wittman could feel the tides shifting and called timeout tied once again at 19. After two more ties, Monroe finally pulled away for the 25-22 set victory, taking four of the last five points.
Outside hitter Sadie Yeadon hit one deep and one into the net. Fry then got one to fall, as the Cougars couldn’t communicate whose ball it was. On match point, Sheaffer went to the line for a rally that ended in a four-hit violation on Clinton.
“I think it gave us the extra edge [in the third set] knowing we beat them twice before,” Fry said, recalling Monroe’s 2-1 win in the Clinton tournament and 3-1 win the season prior. “We were also humble enough to prove that we can beat them again.”
Hartwig led the offense with five kills, while Wild and Sheaffer added four each. Golembiewski and Fry tallied two kills. At the service line, Monroe recorded eight aces with three of them coming from Bartholf. In addition to the win, the team also celebrated its five seniors — Mara Seffrood, Hartwig, Fry, Sheaffer and Bartholf.
“They [seniors] have grown so much from August until now,” Wittman said. “They’ve grown not just as athletes but people in general. I’ve seen them step up their leadership, communication and trust skills. Those are things that make us who we are as people. We want to help them gain people skills, and that’s going to help them ten times more going out into their futures than a win on the court.”
Monroe will need these leadership skills in its playoff game against Dodgeville on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
