MONROE - Volleyball can be a game of spurts and Monroe coach Dave Gersbach believed his team had the momentum facing a must-win fourth game against Milton Thursday night.
Milton was called for an illegal substitution late in the fourth game that gave the Cheesemakers a 21-18 lead. The Red Hawks rallied and Milton senior Emilee Walters powered down a kill to seal the fourth game and give the Red Hawks a 25-11, 22-25, 25-20, 26-24 win over the Cheesemakers.
"I thought we had the momentum on our side," Gersbach said. "They put a couple of key balls down in the end. It was a tough finish. We had a hard time on the sideout and they took advantage of it."
It was a big turnaround from the last time Monroe played Milton earlier this season and lost in three straight sets. The Cheesemakers (8-14, 1-8 Badger South) were just a couple of plays away from forcing a decisive fifth game.
"The only thing I could think was let's just make it to a fifth game," Monroe senior Sarah Kloepping said.
Senior Jaclyn Ditter had 14 kills to lead the Cheesemakers, including one late in the fourth game that gave the Cheesemakers a 23-22 lead.
"I would definitely say both teams wanted it really bad," Ditter said. "Neither team could really step ahead because we were pretty evenly matched."
The Cheesemakers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first game with Kloepping delivering two of her match-high five aces. The Cheesemakers struggled with service receive and passing in the first game. Milton sophomore Katie Soddy answered scoring 10 consecutive points from the service line to give the Red Hawks a 12-5 lead.
"When we stepped on the court tonight it was just dead silence," Gersbach said. "It was just hard to get going. Once the crowd warmed up a little bit, I think the girls started to push back. I'm really proud. Once we started warming up, the girls played for one another and started clicking."
The passing game started clicking for the Cheesemakers in the second game. Monroe sophomore Becca Armstrong, who had three blocks, and Kloepping took control at the net in the second game as the Cheesemakers built a 10-4 lead.
The Cheesemakers' biggest lead was 18-9 and that is when the Red Hawks came storming back. Armstrong had a block late in the second game that gave the Cheesemakers a 23-20 lead.
It wasn't easy to close out the Red Hawks. After a Red Hawks' side out and a hit into the net by the Cheesemakers, Milton trailed 24-22. Ditter hammered a kill that gave the Cheesemakers the win.
"We just wanted to play hard and get a win going into the third game," Ditter said.
The Red Hawks raced out to a 13-3 lead in the third game. The Cheesemakers rallied behind some hot serving by senior Sara Donvito and Kloepping. Donvito had three aces that helped the Cheesemakers cut the Red Hawks lead to 14-8. Kloepping later scored six straight service points including three aces that tied the game at 17. Ditter followed with a kill on a sideout to give the Cheesemakers a short-lived 18-17 lead.
Donvito had 20 digs and senior Abby Jacobson had 19 assists.
"If we play more as a team and together in the beginning of the match, it would help us out in the end when it's close," Ditter said.
Milton was called for an illegal substitution late in the fourth game that gave the Cheesemakers a 21-18 lead. The Red Hawks rallied and Milton senior Emilee Walters powered down a kill to seal the fourth game and give the Red Hawks a 25-11, 22-25, 25-20, 26-24 win over the Cheesemakers.
"I thought we had the momentum on our side," Gersbach said. "They put a couple of key balls down in the end. It was a tough finish. We had a hard time on the sideout and they took advantage of it."
It was a big turnaround from the last time Monroe played Milton earlier this season and lost in three straight sets. The Cheesemakers (8-14, 1-8 Badger South) were just a couple of plays away from forcing a decisive fifth game.
"The only thing I could think was let's just make it to a fifth game," Monroe senior Sarah Kloepping said.
Senior Jaclyn Ditter had 14 kills to lead the Cheesemakers, including one late in the fourth game that gave the Cheesemakers a 23-22 lead.
"I would definitely say both teams wanted it really bad," Ditter said. "Neither team could really step ahead because we were pretty evenly matched."
The Cheesemakers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first game with Kloepping delivering two of her match-high five aces. The Cheesemakers struggled with service receive and passing in the first game. Milton sophomore Katie Soddy answered scoring 10 consecutive points from the service line to give the Red Hawks a 12-5 lead.
"When we stepped on the court tonight it was just dead silence," Gersbach said. "It was just hard to get going. Once the crowd warmed up a little bit, I think the girls started to push back. I'm really proud. Once we started warming up, the girls played for one another and started clicking."
The passing game started clicking for the Cheesemakers in the second game. Monroe sophomore Becca Armstrong, who had three blocks, and Kloepping took control at the net in the second game as the Cheesemakers built a 10-4 lead.
The Cheesemakers' biggest lead was 18-9 and that is when the Red Hawks came storming back. Armstrong had a block late in the second game that gave the Cheesemakers a 23-20 lead.
It wasn't easy to close out the Red Hawks. After a Red Hawks' side out and a hit into the net by the Cheesemakers, Milton trailed 24-22. Ditter hammered a kill that gave the Cheesemakers the win.
"We just wanted to play hard and get a win going into the third game," Ditter said.
The Red Hawks raced out to a 13-3 lead in the third game. The Cheesemakers rallied behind some hot serving by senior Sara Donvito and Kloepping. Donvito had three aces that helped the Cheesemakers cut the Red Hawks lead to 14-8. Kloepping later scored six straight service points including three aces that tied the game at 17. Ditter followed with a kill on a sideout to give the Cheesemakers a short-lived 18-17 lead.
Donvito had 20 digs and senior Abby Jacobson had 19 assists.
"If we play more as a team and together in the beginning of the match, it would help us out in the end when it's close," Ditter said.
