MONTICELLO - The Monticello volleyball team was on the ropes several times against Shullsburg in the championship match of the gold bracket in the Six Rivers Jamboree on Saturday.
The Miners won the first game 25-19, but the Ponies rebounded to take the second 25-20. In a decisive Game 3, the Ponies trailed 14-13 before getting a sideout to tie the game at 14. Monticello sophomore Alyssah Kubly then came through with two aces to give the Ponies a 16-14 win to seal the gold bracket championship. Monticello went 4-0 at the tournament.
"It's one of the first times they have won it," Monticello coach Scott Smice said. "They were very excited."
Smice said it was probably good for the Ponies to lose the first game against the Miners.
"We were coming off six straight wins," Smice said. "We may have been thinking we were a lot better than we are. It put everything back in focus. We were a lot more focused and committed to what we were doing after that."
Benton won the silver bracket and Juda went 2-1 to win the bronze bracket. Juda defeated Albany 25-21, 17-25, 15-9 in the bronze bracket. In pool play, the Panthers lost to Black Hawk and split with Potosi. Albany finished the tournament 2-2 and were a tiebreaker away from playing in the gold bracket. Shullsburg defeated Albany 25-19, 25-15 in pool play.
"I was really happy with the end result," Juda coach Tara Lund said. "The girls stepped it up and we were able to win the bronze bracket. We had a lot of nerves in the first game. It's the first time these girls have played together."
The Comets beat River Ridge 26-24, 26-24, but lost a chance to advance to the gold bracket based on a tiebreaker of total points given up.
"The girls were very disappointed in how they played all day," Albany coach Connie Wunschel said. "I think Saturday was an eye-opener because it was stronger competition."
Both Albany and Juda played without a starter. Albany played without senior Cassidy Bump and Juda played without Miranda Trotter. Wunschel noticed a few uncharacteristic mistakes against the Panthers.
"We didn't get enough hits," she said. "The sets weren't crisp enough. We had a lot of unforced errors and we served into the net which is unlike us."
The Ponies defeated Benton 25-20, 25-23 and knocked off Darlington 25-19, 25-21 in pool play. In the gold bracket, the Ponies dispatched Potosi 25-19, 25-22.
Monticello junior Marissa Berg had 25 kills, 20 digs and 10 blocks in the tournament. Senior outside hitter Jordyn Kubly had 18 kills, 20 digs and seven blocks. Junior Claire Gietzel had a team-high 42 digs and six aces. Fellow junior Clare Bruns had 72 assists in the four matches.
"I think this will be good momentum going into our first conference game against Pecatonica on Tuesday," Smice said.
The Miners won the first game 25-19, but the Ponies rebounded to take the second 25-20. In a decisive Game 3, the Ponies trailed 14-13 before getting a sideout to tie the game at 14. Monticello sophomore Alyssah Kubly then came through with two aces to give the Ponies a 16-14 win to seal the gold bracket championship. Monticello went 4-0 at the tournament.
"It's one of the first times they have won it," Monticello coach Scott Smice said. "They were very excited."
Smice said it was probably good for the Ponies to lose the first game against the Miners.
"We were coming off six straight wins," Smice said. "We may have been thinking we were a lot better than we are. It put everything back in focus. We were a lot more focused and committed to what we were doing after that."
Benton won the silver bracket and Juda went 2-1 to win the bronze bracket. Juda defeated Albany 25-21, 17-25, 15-9 in the bronze bracket. In pool play, the Panthers lost to Black Hawk and split with Potosi. Albany finished the tournament 2-2 and were a tiebreaker away from playing in the gold bracket. Shullsburg defeated Albany 25-19, 25-15 in pool play.
"I was really happy with the end result," Juda coach Tara Lund said. "The girls stepped it up and we were able to win the bronze bracket. We had a lot of nerves in the first game. It's the first time these girls have played together."
The Comets beat River Ridge 26-24, 26-24, but lost a chance to advance to the gold bracket based on a tiebreaker of total points given up.
"The girls were very disappointed in how they played all day," Albany coach Connie Wunschel said. "I think Saturday was an eye-opener because it was stronger competition."
Both Albany and Juda played without a starter. Albany played without senior Cassidy Bump and Juda played without Miranda Trotter. Wunschel noticed a few uncharacteristic mistakes against the Panthers.
"We didn't get enough hits," she said. "The sets weren't crisp enough. We had a lot of unforced errors and we served into the net which is unlike us."
The Ponies defeated Benton 25-20, 25-23 and knocked off Darlington 25-19, 25-21 in pool play. In the gold bracket, the Ponies dispatched Potosi 25-19, 25-22.
Monticello junior Marissa Berg had 25 kills, 20 digs and 10 blocks in the tournament. Senior outside hitter Jordyn Kubly had 18 kills, 20 digs and seven blocks. Junior Claire Gietzel had a team-high 42 digs and six aces. Fellow junior Clare Bruns had 72 assists in the four matches.
"I think this will be good momentum going into our first conference game against Pecatonica on Tuesday," Smice said.
