GREEN BAY — The Wabeno/Laona Rebels rounded up the Monticello Ponies, ending their journey in the postseason at the Resch Center, Friday, Nov. 5 in a WIAA Division 4 state semifinal. After a hard fought four set match in the semifinal, the Rebels moved on to the state championship against McDonell Catholic, where they lost in three sets.
Both the Ponies and the Rebels made their debut appearances at the state tournament this year.
“It was really emotional,” Monticello coach Rebecca Gustafson said. “Our team has grit and they can battle through a lot, but the Rebels were a tough team that played really well.”
The four close sets resulted in Wabeno/Laona’s favor, 25-23, 24-26, 25-23, 25-19.
“It’s really rare that we go more than three sets,” coach Gustafson said. “Coming into the whole tournament series, our strategy has been to play consistent but yet aggressive.”
Each team went on runs, earning three or more points at a time. During the first set, the Rebels went on a hot streak with kills, aces and Pony errors, creating a five-point lead that later grew to seven.
“We got off to a slow start,” coach Gustafson said. “Nerves got a little bit to us. We were playing too inconsistent, which is the equivalent to giving them free balls and allowed them to stay in system. But I think we did a nice job of recovering from that. They were a really aggressive team, pass and cover the floor really well, and were really good at staying in their system and attacking us.”
Monticello was able to rally down 21-14, capitalizing on Rebel errors and answering with kills and aces. Crawling back into contention, the Ponies lost by a kill to Elizabeth Krawze, who accounted for 53% of the Rebels kills.
“After we came back in the first set, it was like, ‘Okay, so we were getting crushed really bad, but we came back, so we can stick with them. They’re not an unbeatable team,’” said junior hitter Ellie Gustafson, Monticello’s co-captain.
Limiting the points scored during a run, the Ponies were better able to compete in the second match, always staying within three points of the Rebels. Monticello was able stay consistent and capitalize on the opposing errors to tie the score first at 23 and again at 24. The strategy worked to finish the game as the Rebels made two more attack errors to hand Monticello their first victory in the semifinals.
“I think we started serving tough and we were able to take advantage of some free balls that they were sending off and start controlling the pace of the game, which we were kind of chasing that first set,” coach Gustafson said.
During several key points during the games, Kelsy Grant was able to create runs with her serving. Grant had 44 aces out of her 473 total season aces during the tournament. She had six in the semifinal. After each ace, the crowd cheered, “She’s a freshman,” boasting the young talent on the team that will be seen in future years to come.
Monticello continued the winning momentum form the second into the third set, leading the score early on. After each kill or block, the teams burst into momentary celebration, adding energy to the arena. Ellie Gustafson repeated kill after kill, and Clark blocked several balls. Many times, the teams went point for point battling until the Rebels took control at the end with back-to-back kills.
Mirroring the third set, the fourth was very close until the teams were tied at 13-13. The Rebels slowly began to pull away as Elizabeth Krawze hammered away at the Ponies. Monticello was able to answer with a few aces and kills of their own before the Rebels finished off the Ponies season, 25-19.
Monticello took the loss with grace, wishing the best to the Rebels as they continued on their journey. The team then reflected on the support they’ve had throughout the season that enabled them to succeed in their quest for a state title.
“I didn’t know a little town could get so excited,” said Hannah Clark, Monticello senior and co-captain.
Ellie Gustafson added, “During the sendoff, I really felt loved by our community. I would do this all again in a heartbeat.”
Before leaving Monticello, the team received a police and fire truck escort. For two miles up the highway, signs of support latched onto road posts, wishing the team well.
“We’ve had a lot of people in the community donate money, so we’ve been able to be able to get around on a coach bus and have lots of snacks and food and posters,” coach Gustafson said. “It’s fun to be a part of that, and hopefully energizes all the little Ponies to get in the gym start playing a fun sport.”
The inspiring journey has left hope for the future of the program. The motto of the year for the Ponies was ‘Believe’ and coach Gustafson trusts it is going to stick with the players.
“Having confidence and believing in yourself is something we want these strong women to be able to do as they start playing volleyball,” she said.
Clark believes the success of the team came from the players abilities to work together.
“I think another thing is being able to trust your teammates, and being able to call your teammates when you know something that needs to be fixed on the court, taking that advice and just running with it,” Clark said. “I think that was something we really did.”
“A lot of the time, these girls coach themselves,” coach Gustafson added. “It made my job fun and easy. They’re just really good players and smart kids.”
