GREEN BAY — The Monticello volleyball team ended its 2022 season as WIAA Division 4 state runners-up to defending state champion McDonell Central Catholic (41-12). With the silver ball in hand, Monticello set a program-best finish, improving upon last year’s state semifinal loss.

“I’m at a loss for words. I never thought we’d say we finished our season at the state tournament — at the state championship,” head coach Rebecca Gustafson said. “It’s a little emotional. I’m very proud of these girls.”

Heading into the game, Monticello was confident. After its five-set semifinal win against Athens, the team felt it could take on anyone.

“McDonell and Athens were a coin flip for the first seed,” Rebecca Gustafson said. “If we can beat this team [Athens], we can beat that team [McDonell].”

Monticello used that confidence to come out strong in the first set. Ellie Gustafson began the set with a kill and the team rallied with a double block. With three straight points to go up 8-3, the Ponies forced a Macks timeout.

Josie Witkowski’s hit went off Monticello’s blockers, recording a point for McDonell, but the Ponies scored the next four to force the Macks’ second timeout of the set. In that span, Ellie Gustafson had two kills along with one each from Macey Grant and Kennadee Johnson.

Point by point, McDonell closed in. With back-to-back kills from Anna Thaler to get within one, Monticello called a timeout.

It proved effective, as the Ponies scored four straight points. Ellie Gustafson’s tip found the floor behind the blockers, Jaden Zuber’s kill hit the back line, McDonell setter Abby Bresina committed an error, and Ellie Gustafson recorded yet another kill. 

The Ponies’ final two points came on a net violation and Ellie Gustafson kill. Monticello took the first set 25-22.

“I think it was confidence. We knew coming into this game that we didn’t have anything to lose,” Ellie Gustafson said of the team’s strong start. “Macey and I will never be in this situation again, and for the other girls, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.”

Monticello began the second set with a 3-1 lead, but McDonell responded to tie the set at three, four and five all. From that point on, the Macks never trailed. They took a 10-6 lead with four Pony errors and kills from Alayna Crawford and Gracie Goettl. With Bresina at the service line, McDonell extended its lead to 20-8.

Bresina entered the tournament with a team-leading 77 service aces. Last season, she set the D4 state tournament record for seven aces in three sets against Wonewoc-Center.  

“I think it was pretty simple: we just had to move up,” Ellie Gustafson said of the team’s adjustment. “She was a really good server, but she didn’t push us back deep.”

Macey Grant ended McDonell’s streak will a kill, sending her sister Kelsy Grant to the line to serve. Monticello then went on a rally of its own with three kills from Ellie Gustafson, an ace from Kelsy Grant and a tip from Zuber.

“Grit and grace. We have the grit. When you have a little pressure put on you, you have to remember the grace,” Rebecca Gustafson said of the team’s momentum swing. “We talked about that. We needed that side out. It was just that one serve receive rotation. Once we got out of that, we were able to gather ourselves and score some points.”

With another four-point run — highlighted by back-to-back double blocks by Dalana Trumpy and Zuber — the Ponies got within three points of the Macks. Two more points forced a McDonell timeout. The Macks squashed Monticello’s momentum, scoring the last two points to take the set 25-22. 

Despite being tied 6-6 in the third set, Monticello eventually fell 25-15. 

Rebecca Gustafson called her first timeout down 8-13, and from that point on, McDonell outscored Monticello 12-7. The definitive run came after the Ponies’ second timeout. Goettl recorded a kill followed by an ace from Emily Cooper. After a Monticello error, Aubrey Dorn and Witkowski blocked an attack from Macey Grant. The final point of the set was an error on the Ponies.

The fourth — and what proved to be the final — set was one of rallies. 

McDonell took a 3-1 lead on two errors and a block. With another three-point run moments later, the Macks extended their lead to 9-4.

Monticello responded with its first three-point rally to get within two. Ellie Gustafson found a hole in the back row, Zuber served up an ace and Trumpy’s tip found the floor. The second rally got the Ponies within one at 12-11. Kelsy Grant smashed a Mack overpass and Ellie Gustafson recorded another kill.

Down the stretch, McDonell outscored Monticello 13-5 to take the set 25-16.

Ellie Gustafson finished with 28 kills, followed by Macey Grant with 10. Kelsy Grant racked up 37 assists, while Ellie Gustafson led in digs with 25. Zuber and Trumpy also recorded double digit digs with 16 and 12, respectively. 

With seven service aces, Bresina tied for second in D4 state tournament history for the most aces in four sets. Marley Hughes had 15 kills with one error on 29 total attempts for a .482 hitting percentage. She moved into second for highest percentage in four sets.

STATE SEMIFINALS 

MONTICELLO 3, ATHENS 2 

The Ponies began their trip to state with a five-set win against No. 2 seeded Athens, 25-22, 12-25, 25-27, 25-21, 15-9. 

The atmosphere was like none other, with four communities supporting their teams at once. In fact, Athens’ school won the Rush to the Resch contest, selling the most tickets to the game.  

Two simultaneous games, large crowds and potential nerves didn’t bother senior Ellie Gustafson and her team, though. They were here last year and knew what to expect. In 2021, Ellie Gustafson set the Division 4 state record for kill attempts in four sets with 100. She also got in the record book with 32 kills in four sets (3rd) and 24 digs in four sets (5th). As a freshman, Kelsy Grant made the state record book with six aces in four sets (3rd). 

“It was a little different because we knew what to expect,” Ellie Gustafson said. “Coming into the game, that was an advantage we thought we had. Last year, it [the atmosphere] got to use a little bit. … This time, I had no idea that there was another game going on the other side.” 

After dropping the first point, Monticello took a 3-1 lead with two kills from Ellie Gustafson and an ace from Grant. 

An ace from Celina Ellenbecker tied the game at three, from which Athens took a 5-3 lead. The Ponies didn’t regain the lead until 12-11 on a five-point rally. In that span, Macey Grant and Ellie Gustafson recorded kills each, followed by an ace by Trumpy. 

Proving to be a 37-7 team, Athens tied the set six more times, as late as 20 all. That’s when Monticello found another gear to take the 22-20 lead with a cross-court shot and ace from Trumpy. 

The Ponies scored three of the last five points thanks to Macey Grant and Ellie Gustafson to take the first set 25-22. 

“I think that helped us a lot,” Ellie Gustafson said of winning the first set. “Even if we got down in the game, we knew that no matter what, we could come back and win.” 

Monticello would need that confidence later in the game, as they got off to a slow start in set two. 

Although they had a 3-1 lead, the Ponies dropped the next six points. Ellie Gustafson got the team back within two with back-to-back kills, but the Bluejays padded their lead to nine on five straight point. 

After the Ponies’ second timeout of the set, Athens outscored Monticello nine to six to take set two. The final two points came on a kill from Sophia Coker and a tip that found the open court. 

In the second set alone, Athens had 10 kills on zero attack errors for a .400 hitting percentage. Entering the game, the team was hitting just .182.  

The beginning of set three was a near repeat of the second. 

Monticello dropped the opening point and then scored the next three on an attack error and two consecutive double blocks from Johnson and Ellie Gustafson. 

The Ponies lost the lead, as the Bluejays took five of the next six points. Despite a five-point rally to tie the game at 13, Monticello didn’t regain the lead until 16-15 with a kill from Zuber. 

An attack error tied the game at 16, but Monticello retained and increased its lead on three consecutive Athens errors, including a ball that dropped between two players who failed to communicate. 

The Bluejays gathered themselves, scoring three straight points to prompt a Pony timeout. After taking the 25-24 lead on a bad set, Monticello called its second timeout. Athens went to its kills leader Jazelle Hartwig (354 on the season) down the stretch, and the junior came up clutch, recording the final two kills to take the set. 

“The second and third set, we really put our head down,” Trumpy said. “You could tell that we were down on ourselves. The fourth set we came back; we knew we could win this if we stayed positive.” 

Monticello got on the board first in the fourth set — the first time the team had done so all game — but the lead proved short-lived. With two errors, a block and kill from Hartwig, Athens took a 4-1 lead. 

Ellie Gustafson tied the set at five with an ace, but the Ponies struggled to maintain the lead. After three consecutive Bluejay points, Rebecca Gustafson called a timeout to calm her team. 

With five of the next nine points, Monticello got back within one. Four of the Ponies’ points came from Ellie Gustafson. An ace from Kelsy Grant tied the game at 13, but Athens held onto its lead.  

Down 16-19, the Ponies found another gear. Two Bluejay errors and a double block from Kelsy Grant and Trumpy prompted Athens to take a timeout. Head coach Tanille Hartwig’s tactic proved ineffective, as Monticello took seven of the last nine points, including a five-point run to end the set. 

Riding their fourth-set momentum, the Ponies scored the first three points of the fifth set. Despite giving Athens two free balls, Monticello got the first point on a lift. The second came on a double block and the fourth on an error. 

“Once we got that jump in the fifth game — it’s a really quick game to 15,” Rebecca Gustafson said. “We just had to keep siding out.” 

That’s what the team did. Monticello took four of the next six points to lead 7-2, forcing Athens’ second timeout of the set. The Bluejays had to go the rest of the game without a timeout. 

The Ponies took advantage, outscoring Athens two points to one to close out the set 15-9. Ellie Gustafson recorded the final kill. 

With 28 kills, Ellie Gustafson led the offense. She also had 34 digs, a new Division 4 state tournament record. The previous record of 33 was set by Melissa Tranel of Southwestern in 2014. Johnson had five kills on 11 attempts for a .273 hitting percentage. Entering the match, she had just four kills all season. Kelsy Grant distributed the offense with 40 assists. 

Monticello bested Athens in kills (56-46), hitting percentage (.117-.108) and service aces (10-6). Kelsy Grant and Trumpy led the team with three aces each. All season, the Ponies have relied on their serve game to get opponents out of system. 

“That’s been our game plan,” Rebecca Gustafson said. “That’s how we got here last year, and that’s how we got here this year. We want to get them out of system, so we can get that free ball back and run our offense.” 

With the win, the team secured a state trophy — it just depended on what color.

“This year we aren’t going out sad like we did last year,” Macey Grant said. “Tomorrow, no matter what happens, we are bringing home a ball.” 

A SEASON TO BE PROUD OF

Monticello ended its season with a 31-2 record. Its only losses came to Evansville — a Division 2 team — and defending Division 4 state champion McDonell. As the state runners-up, the Ponies had a program-best season.

The team competed in three tournaments — Monticello, Richland Center and Brodhead — where they took first each time. For the second straight year, the Ponies won the Six Rivers East conference and had five players receive all-conference recognition. Ellie Gustafson and Rebecca Gustafson were repeat picks as Player and Coach of the Year.

In the state tournament, Ellie Gustafson made the top-six in the record book seven different times, setting two new records. With two matches in the tournament, she dug out 59 balls. The previous record was 49, set by Jordan Kittoe of Potosi in 2001. Ellie Gustafson also set the new five-set dig record with 34. Her other records include 56 total kills in the tournament (4th), 159 total attempts (2nd), 28 kills in five sets (5th), 68 attack attempts in four sets (T-4th) and 25 digs in four sets (T-4th). 

Although the team graduates seniors Ellie Gustafson and Macey Grant, their back-to-back state trips have set a precedent.

“We were the smallest school here — our enrollment is 103,” Ellie Gustafson said. “That just proves to our school that, even though we are probably the smallest school in Wisconsin, we can still make it and do big things.”