BRODHEAD — The Cardinals entered this volleyball season with high expectations. Two seasons ago, Brodhead reached the WIAA state alternate fall championship game. Many on that team were sophomores, and now seniors. As juniors last year, the Cardinals lost a five-set thriller to Cuba City in sectionals.
This year, the senior-laden Cardinals are as focused as ever.
“All those things are fuel, but we’re focused on one game at a time,” senior captain Alexis Kammerer said after Brodhead’s 3-0 sweep of Evansville Sept. 20, 25-10, 25-14, 25-22. “We’re focused on the game we have right now, finish business there, then move on to the next.”
Leading the team is a slew of heavy hitters and one of the program’s all-time best setters. Abbie Dix is the reigning Rock Valley Player of the Year, bringing punishing net play to the table. Fellow outside hitter Kirsten Fish, towers over her opponents, hits with a hammer and will play for UW-Green Bay next fall. Mckenna Young is a few inches shorter than Dix and Fish, but hits just as hard. Kaidynce Bevars brings balance between the net and backcourt, and Kammerer is the backbone of the squad. She is the program’s all-time aces leader and will finish her career among the top in all-time assists.
“It’s pretty awesome when you play with somebody since fourth grade. You have that chemistry going, and then you bring other people in to make it a team effort,” Kammerer said.
She’s pragmatic about her dwindling time playing on her varsity home court of four years, plus all the years as a team manager.
“All good things come to an end eventually, so we might as well take in the moment and enjoy it,” Kammerer said. “(This season’s) been super fun, and everyone is playing hard.”
In the win over Evansville, Brodhead came out ready to win, jumping ahead 7-1 in the opening frame, and later going on another 8-1 run in the set. In the second set, the two teams were knotted up at 3-3 early on, and later the Cardinals held a tight 7-6 advantage. Then Brodhead ran off an 11-1 run, including eight points in a row with Makenna Schooff at the service line.
“We’ve got a lot of power in the front with my hitters, but I think the fun thing is seeing the kids get on a string of serves — to go after something. We had a game plan tonight and we executed it very well. It was nice to see them take the IQ part of it and then transfer it into the game,” coach Erin Kammerer said. Schooff and Bevars finished the match with four aces each.
In the third set, the Cards methodically got out to a 14-9 advantage, and a 6-0 run put them ahead 20-9. With Brodhead’s reserves in, Evansville went on a run itself, outscoring the Cardinals 9-1 to get back to within three points. Erin Kammerer put the starters back in to close out the set and match.
“Our seniors have done a great job about making this season about the team, and not them. I think they do a great job of making it like a training process — we mix (subs) in a little bit so they can learn how to get momentum and how hard they have to work. It’s a great transition into making a program,” Erin Kammerer said.
Dix and Fish each had eight kills on the night, while Kammerer had 20 assists and two aces. Dix also had seven digs and two blocks, while fish tallied three blocks. While the coaching staff was pleased with the outcome, there is still plenty of work to be done before playoffs.
“We’ve got a lot to do on the forefront of this first touch. We have to put more effort into our first touch, because it’s a lot of fun when we pass the ball. We have to hone in a little bit more on the fact that the fun comes after we make that first pass, and after we serve tough,” Erin Kammerer said.
Up next, the Cardinals were at Clinton on Sept. 22, then host East Troy on Sept. 27 before an away match at Big Foot Sept. 29. The Cardinals trail McFarland in the conference standings by a game, with the two teams set to clash Oct. 6 in Brodhead.
