BARNEVELD — The Six Rivers Conference held its annual volleyball Senior Showdown on Friday, July 7, raising funds for American Family Children’s Hospital. The event pits the top seniors in the East against the top seniors in the West for a competitive, yet fun final game of volleyball. This year, the West defeated the East 4-1.
“It was nice to play against the people you are mad at on the court during the regular season,” Black Hawk senior Raylin Peterson said. “You get with them on the court, and it’s fun.”
The West took an early 7-0 lead in the first set, thanks to two aces from Highland’s Harper Drury. Despite a hitting error, the West extended its lead to 10-1 with an ace from Benton’s Jocelyn Cummins and a kill from Highland’s Grace Dreischmeier.
The East slowly worked its way back into the set with two kills from Monticello’s Ellie Gustafson, the Six Rivers East Player of the Year, and a kill from Pecatonica’s Sienna Runden. Down the stretch, the East closed the gap to just one point, 22-21, with a seven-point run. The West committed three errors, while Ellie Gustafson served up three aces.
The West held on to take the first set 25-23, taking advantage of the East’s hitting errors.
After a slow start in the first set, the East scored the first point in the second set with an ace from Pecatonica’s Chloe Schraepfer. The two teams went on to tie the set 11 different times with four lead changes.
The West had two, three-point runs to take leads. River Ridge’s Payton Millin, the Six Rivers West Conference Player of the Year, tied the game at three with a kill and gave her team a 5-3 lead with an ace. She also sparked the second run with a kill.
The East regained the lead, 17-15, with a four-point run. After a service error, Monticello’s Macey Grant tied the game at 15 with a kill, followed by an Ellie Gustafson ace. The West closed out the second set, winning 10 of the next 15 points for a 25-22 victory.
Belmont’s Tori Nodolf sparked the run with a solo block, followed by an ace from Highland’s Ella Cody. The only other offensive point came on a kill from Benton’s Joceyln Cummins. The remaining points came on East errors.
The West continued its run in the third set, allowing the East to score just nine points. The East scored two quick points with a tip from Ellie Gustafson and a kill from Grant, but the West went on a seven-point run.
Millin found a hole with a tip then proceeded to serve up three aces. Although Barneveld’s Mya Baker recorded a kill and ace to make it 10-5, the East couldn’t hold off the West. Nodolf ended the third set with a solo block, giving the West a 25-9 win.
Between the third and fourth sets, representatives from the Six Rivers Conference presented official Loren Homb with a plaque, honoring his 38 years of officiating games. Homb remains active in many WIAA sports, including volleyball and track, recently working at the WIAA State Track and Field meet in La Crosse.
The fourth set played out much like the second, except the East pulled out a 25-23 victory. Ellie Gustafson began with an ace, but the West scored the next four points with a block, ace from Drury and kill from Millin.
Grant halted the run with a kill and went to the service line for two aces. She then gave the East a 6-5 lead with a kill. The East extended its lead to 9-6 before the West went on a seven-point run. In that time, River Ridge’s Mackenzie Esser recorded two aces and Nodolf found holes in the defense with two tips.
The East regained the lead with two, four-point runs. Following a West service error, Juda’s Ciarrah Davis served up an error, and Grant smashed a kill. In the second run, Grant tallied another kill along with two aces from Ellie Gustafson.
The West held on, tying the set three times down the stretch, but the East scored the final three points to prevail 25-23.
In the first-to-fifteen fifth set, the West took an early 8-1 lead with aces from Drury and Cummins. The East got within two, 11-9, thanks to three kills from Barneveld’s Shelbi Marx, but the West held on to win 15-9.
The Senior Showdown marked the final high school volleyball games for the seniors and Monticello’s Rebecca Gustafson. After back-to-back state appearances and a silver ball in 2022, Rebecca Gustafson ended her coaching career.
Rebecca Gustafson, recently inducted into the Edgewood College Hall of Fame, expressed her gratitude for the sport of volleyball but also admitted she looked forward to watching daughter Ellie continue her athletic career at St. Thomas and spending time with her husband, Mark, who coached Monticello girls basketball.
“It was sentimental coaching Ellie and just being done coaching,” Rebecca Gustafson said. “I love the game. Volleyball has enriched my life in so many ways from the time I was in high school, to college and being a volleyball mom. But I’m looking forward to traveling to watch Ellie play and spending time with my husband.”
