MONROE — Wisconsin Heights won the Monroe Volleyball Invitational Aug. 31, fending off Mount Horeb for the title.
The Cheesemakers finished fifth ahead of Wauzeka-Steuben, while Watertown Luther Prep was fourth and Darlington third.
Monroe opened the tournament with a 3-set loss to Darlington, 25-21, 21-25, 11-15.
“We had many opportunities to win this match but missed serves and hitting errors got the best of us,” Cheesemakers coach Heidi Witt said. “I know these girls can play more competitively than they showed. We did have some moments of great plays and hustle, but we have to put it all together in one full match.”
Monroe then fell in two sets to Mount Horeb, 16-25, 15-25; Wisconsin Heights 14-25, 13-25; and Luther Prep 22-25, 15-25.
“I thought maybe we would fare a little better at our home tournament,” Witt said. “We seemed a bit sleepy, we missed way more serves than usual, hits weren’t finding the court, and our defense was slow to react at times.”
The Cheesemakers’ lone win came against Wauzeka-Steuben in a grueling 3-set match, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12.
Cassi Gersbach led Monroe with 30 kills, 25 digs and four blocks on the day. Makayla Harrow had 11 kills and five blocks. Chloe Bunker finished with 10 kills and three blocks. Lily Frehner had 56 assists on the day with 28 digs, while Alyse Maurer had three aces and 34 digs.
“We tried mixing it up and getting everyone some playing time and, for the most part, we were really happy with how that went,” Witt said. “We have another busy week next week with school starting, two matches and a weekend tournament at Brodhead. We need to continue to put the work in at practice and play our game at game-time.”
Darlington defeated Luther Prep 20-25, 25-23, 15-13 and Wauzeka-Steuben 25-18, 25-11. The Redbirds lost to Wisconsin Heights 18-25, 15-25 and Mount Horeb 23-25, 19-25. Heights defeated Mount Horeb in three sets 17-25, 25-15, 15-12 in the deciding match.
The all-tournament team included Mount Horeb’s Maddy Mason, Elise Goetzinger and Abby Steinhauer, Luther’s Samantha Fisch and Naomi Bridgeman and Wisconsin Heights setter Jada Wood.
Sept. 3
Monroe 3, Turner 0
BELOIT — The Cheesemakers swept the Trojans in a nonconference match 26-24, 25-23, 25-12.
“Sets one and two were a back and forth battle,” Witt said. “However, the difference was that Monroe di not give up when they were behind. The last set was controlled by Monroe pretty much the entire time.”
Gersbach finished with eight kills and two blocks. Lydia Butler and Katie Hayes each had four kills. Lily Frehner finished with a block and 16 assists. Alyse Maurer had 12 digs, while Hayes had six. Maurer and Bri Seagreaves each finished with two aces.
“Tonight we finished, and that was a great feeling. It was definitely a team effort,” Witt said.
