MONROE - After coming back to get a dramatic win at Stoughton on Tuesday, Monroe volleyball coach Dave Gersbach was a little worried about his team's endurance for Thursday's showdown with Milton.
The Cheesemakers showed stamina, heart and the ability to overcome pressure. Monroe beat Milton in four games, 25-18, 18-25, 25-16, 25-23.
"Their conditioning is really showing off. They want it more. It's nice to see them get down a couple and come right back," Gersbach said.
This season, the girls have improved drastically compared to last year and even as late as early-season practices.
"It's daily. It's a daily thing to get better," Gersbach said.
"I still see so much potential from a lot of these young ladies. It's nice to see that they want the challenge. In practice they push me to push them. It's a two-way street."
Monroe started the first game neck and neck with the Red Hawks. After leading 7-6, the Cheesemakers scored five of the next seven rally scoring ponits to post a 10-6 lead. However, Milton went on a run of its own and scored seven straight to take the 13-10 advantage. The two clubs duked it out until Monroe's 8-1 run to close out game one.
In game two, both teams continued trading points until an 8-8 tie. From there, Milton took control of the game, and led at one point 21-13. The Cheesemakers gained some ground, but lost.
The decibel level seemed to become somewhat of a factor, too. Late in the second game, Monroe's fans rarely seized a moment to catch their breaths. The referees had to tend to some crowd control because Milton had complained about the noise affecting their serves.
"The crowd helped the girls. The fans did such a fantastic job. The parents did a great job tonight, too," Gersbach said. "They were 100 percent behind the girls and you couldn't ask for anything more from the parents tonight. It was excellent."
In game three, it didn't take long for the Cheesemakers to regain the momentum. Leading 6-5 in the set, Monroe rang off a 16-4 run to extend the lead to 22-9.
In that game, the two teams continued to battle with Monroe inching its lead further and further ahead. At 18-11 in the Cheesemaker's favor, Milton tried desperately to get back into the game. The Red Hawks rallied to win eight of the next 10 points to close the score to 20-19.
Jaclyn Ditter came up with a huge block on an attempted spike that would have evened the score. Moments later, a bump by the Red Hawks landed perfectly on the hardwood to bring the game back to within a point.
Chrissy Marti tacked on a kill to regain possession and open a two-point lead for the Cheesemakers. On the ensuing volley, a Milton player sent a soft spike into Monroe's no-man's-land. With Milton cheering for the point, the head official signaled that a Red Hawk had crossed the net and the point instead belonged to Monroe. So instead of bringing the score back to one point, Monroe opened up a three-point lead at 23-20.
Milton sent its next kill beyond the court boundaries and the Cheesemakers were just a point away from picking up a conference win.
However, Gersbach's blood pressure began to rise as Milton brought the game back to within one at 24-23.
With the game on the line, junior Jamie Armstrong send the hardest spike of the night to the floor and gave Monroe the victory.
"When things don't go as expected, it's difficult. And that's something we have to continue to try and get better at," Gersbach said of the comeback.
Armstrong led the Cheesemakers with 13 kills, 10 blocks and four aces. Emily Rufenacht had 17 digs and teammate Marissa Ubert had eight digs and an ace. Kayla Streff had 10 assists and a couple of key blocks. Brianna Zimmerman also added eight assists and Ditter had five blocks.
However, the player who made the biggest impactd was junior Chelsea Wyss, who had seven kills, all of which at crucial times during big runs.
"Chelsea Wyss has been coming on stronger. It's always been there, it's just been a matter of believing in herself," Gersbach said. "I would say that she's a very good player and as a coach you can see that. She's done a nice job."
Monroe (9-6, 3-2 Badger South) travels to Oregon (4-1 conference) on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
The Cheesemakers showed stamina, heart and the ability to overcome pressure. Monroe beat Milton in four games, 25-18, 18-25, 25-16, 25-23.
"Their conditioning is really showing off. They want it more. It's nice to see them get down a couple and come right back," Gersbach said.
This season, the girls have improved drastically compared to last year and even as late as early-season practices.
"It's daily. It's a daily thing to get better," Gersbach said.
"I still see so much potential from a lot of these young ladies. It's nice to see that they want the challenge. In practice they push me to push them. It's a two-way street."
Monroe started the first game neck and neck with the Red Hawks. After leading 7-6, the Cheesemakers scored five of the next seven rally scoring ponits to post a 10-6 lead. However, Milton went on a run of its own and scored seven straight to take the 13-10 advantage. The two clubs duked it out until Monroe's 8-1 run to close out game one.
In game two, both teams continued trading points until an 8-8 tie. From there, Milton took control of the game, and led at one point 21-13. The Cheesemakers gained some ground, but lost.
The decibel level seemed to become somewhat of a factor, too. Late in the second game, Monroe's fans rarely seized a moment to catch their breaths. The referees had to tend to some crowd control because Milton had complained about the noise affecting their serves.
"The crowd helped the girls. The fans did such a fantastic job. The parents did a great job tonight, too," Gersbach said. "They were 100 percent behind the girls and you couldn't ask for anything more from the parents tonight. It was excellent."
In game three, it didn't take long for the Cheesemakers to regain the momentum. Leading 6-5 in the set, Monroe rang off a 16-4 run to extend the lead to 22-9.
In that game, the two teams continued to battle with Monroe inching its lead further and further ahead. At 18-11 in the Cheesemaker's favor, Milton tried desperately to get back into the game. The Red Hawks rallied to win eight of the next 10 points to close the score to 20-19.
Jaclyn Ditter came up with a huge block on an attempted spike that would have evened the score. Moments later, a bump by the Red Hawks landed perfectly on the hardwood to bring the game back to within a point.
Chrissy Marti tacked on a kill to regain possession and open a two-point lead for the Cheesemakers. On the ensuing volley, a Milton player sent a soft spike into Monroe's no-man's-land. With Milton cheering for the point, the head official signaled that a Red Hawk had crossed the net and the point instead belonged to Monroe. So instead of bringing the score back to one point, Monroe opened up a three-point lead at 23-20.
Milton sent its next kill beyond the court boundaries and the Cheesemakers were just a point away from picking up a conference win.
However, Gersbach's blood pressure began to rise as Milton brought the game back to within one at 24-23.
With the game on the line, junior Jamie Armstrong send the hardest spike of the night to the floor and gave Monroe the victory.
"When things don't go as expected, it's difficult. And that's something we have to continue to try and get better at," Gersbach said of the comeback.
Armstrong led the Cheesemakers with 13 kills, 10 blocks and four aces. Emily Rufenacht had 17 digs and teammate Marissa Ubert had eight digs and an ace. Kayla Streff had 10 assists and a couple of key blocks. Brianna Zimmerman also added eight assists and Ditter had five blocks.
However, the player who made the biggest impactd was junior Chelsea Wyss, who had seven kills, all of which at crucial times during big runs.
"Chelsea Wyss has been coming on stronger. It's always been there, it's just been a matter of believing in herself," Gersbach said. "I would say that she's a very good player and as a coach you can see that. She's done a nice job."
Monroe (9-6, 3-2 Badger South) travels to Oregon (4-1 conference) on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
