MONROE - Sophomore Cassi Gersbach and the Monroe volleyball found a way to rally from five points down in the fourth set to knock off Fort Atkinson for their first conference win of the season Thursday.
Monroe senior Sydney Mathiason had 14 kills, and seven digs, and Gersbach added eight kills and a team-high five blocks to propel the Cheesemakers to the win over the Blackhawks 25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23.
"We have a lot of determination and persistence," Gersbach said. "We have this new drive we haven't had before in past games. It was really nice to have a win on Parents' Night. I just thought we played with a lot of energy and played hard. We are all one team. It wasn't just one person. It was the whole team."
Monroe (3-7, 1-4 Badger South) rallied from a 22-17 deficit in the fourth set. Junior Lexi Davis, who had a team-high eight digs, delivered with five straight service points late. Gersbach scored on a kill and a tip during the surge to help the Cheesemakers tie the set at 22. The Blackhawks were called for an illegal set and moments later had a serving error to give the Cheesemakers a 24-23 lead.
"They definitely overcame something they have not overcome and come back when they were down," Monroe coach Heidi Witt said. "It should give them some confidence to know just because we are down doesn't mean we are out. It's a great win for them. It's a great way to show their parents that all of their hard work is paying off. I hope they keep this feeling inside of them when they go on to their next match."
Early on, the match had the makings of going five sets. The Cheesemakers took advantage of two serving errors by Fort Atkinson to edge the Blackhawks in the first set. The second set turned into a tipping battle. The Blackhawks built a 15-11 lead, but the Cheesemakers didn't go away. Mathiason scored on a tip to cut the Blackhawks' lead to 15-12. Fort Atkinson scored seven of the next 10 points to take a 22-15 lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"We obviously want to hit the ball," Mathiason said. "You have to take what the set gives you and the tips were open. It feels really good to get a win. We were just communicating on everything."
The Cheesemakers got off to a fast start in the third set. Seniors Meredith Hose and Payton Sigafus played a big role. Hose had four straight service points and Sigafus powered two spikes to spark a 13-7 advantage. It was only fitting Sigafus' kill gave the Cheesemakers the victory and set the stages for the fourth set.
Monroe senior Alysha Witt dished out a team-high 18 assists, and senior Alexis Allen had 13 assists and two aces. Hose had six digs and Davis added two aces.
Heidi Witt said the team has been working on hitting mechanics in practice and made a lineup switch by keeping Davis on the court fulltime and switching freshman Zoee Pond to right side hitter.
"Lexi Davis played all-around because she has been practicing hard and earned it," Witt said. "Zoee Pond is a lefty and is just stronger on the right side. I think the lineup changes gave them some fire tonight. They played with a lot of energy."
Monroe senior Sydney Mathiason had 14 kills, and seven digs, and Gersbach added eight kills and a team-high five blocks to propel the Cheesemakers to the win over the Blackhawks 25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23.
"We have a lot of determination and persistence," Gersbach said. "We have this new drive we haven't had before in past games. It was really nice to have a win on Parents' Night. I just thought we played with a lot of energy and played hard. We are all one team. It wasn't just one person. It was the whole team."
Monroe (3-7, 1-4 Badger South) rallied from a 22-17 deficit in the fourth set. Junior Lexi Davis, who had a team-high eight digs, delivered with five straight service points late. Gersbach scored on a kill and a tip during the surge to help the Cheesemakers tie the set at 22. The Blackhawks were called for an illegal set and moments later had a serving error to give the Cheesemakers a 24-23 lead.
"They definitely overcame something they have not overcome and come back when they were down," Monroe coach Heidi Witt said. "It should give them some confidence to know just because we are down doesn't mean we are out. It's a great win for them. It's a great way to show their parents that all of their hard work is paying off. I hope they keep this feeling inside of them when they go on to their next match."
Early on, the match had the makings of going five sets. The Cheesemakers took advantage of two serving errors by Fort Atkinson to edge the Blackhawks in the first set. The second set turned into a tipping battle. The Blackhawks built a 15-11 lead, but the Cheesemakers didn't go away. Mathiason scored on a tip to cut the Blackhawks' lead to 15-12. Fort Atkinson scored seven of the next 10 points to take a 22-15 lead they wouldn't relinquish.
"We obviously want to hit the ball," Mathiason said. "You have to take what the set gives you and the tips were open. It feels really good to get a win. We were just communicating on everything."
The Cheesemakers got off to a fast start in the third set. Seniors Meredith Hose and Payton Sigafus played a big role. Hose had four straight service points and Sigafus powered two spikes to spark a 13-7 advantage. It was only fitting Sigafus' kill gave the Cheesemakers the victory and set the stages for the fourth set.
Monroe senior Alysha Witt dished out a team-high 18 assists, and senior Alexis Allen had 13 assists and two aces. Hose had six digs and Davis added two aces.
Heidi Witt said the team has been working on hitting mechanics in practice and made a lineup switch by keeping Davis on the court fulltime and switching freshman Zoee Pond to right side hitter.
"Lexi Davis played all-around because she has been practicing hard and earned it," Witt said. "Zoee Pond is a lefty and is just stronger on the right side. I think the lineup changes gave them some fire tonight. They played with a lot of energy."
