Defense leads to victory against improved Anamosa

     An improved Anamosa team took Monticello to four sets, but the Panthers prevailed in a non-conference volleyball battle between neighboring rivals.

     Monticello scored a 25-19, 17-25, 26-24, 25-20 win in the match, played Monday, Sept. 25 in Anamosa.

     The Panthers (3-2, 19-7) had some impressive defensive statistics, recording 65 digs and 10 blocks in the match. Dig leaders included Caitlyn Cruise with 15, Savanah Kremer with 11, Jordyn Kuper with nine, Macy McDonough with seven, Jaelynn Kraus with six, Corinne Gadient and Maddie Lambert with five apiece, and Lauren Ries with four.

     Rileigh Lambert had three blocks, while Gadient and Maddie Lambert had two apiece.

     Despite that, the teams split the first two sets.

     “Anamosa did a great job of defending the net,” Monticello coach Stacie Breitbach said. “They changed their attacks. They came ready to battle.”

     The Panthers responded, however, edging the Blue Raiders by two points in the third set and then winning the fourth one by five.

     “We started to pick up our defense and quickness to the ball, and that led to more offense on our side of the court,” Breitbach said. “We also served well in the last couple of sets.”

     Monticello served 90 percent for the match. Maddie Lambert was 11-for-11, while Kuper was 13-for-14 with three aces. Kremer served 22-for-24, and Cruise was 13-for-15. Gadient had two aces.

     That was the only match of last week for the Panthers, who were scheduled for two home matches this week, Oct. 3 against Bellevue and Oct. 5 against Camanche; the latter is Senior Night.

Sept. 25

Monticello 3, Anamosa 1

MONTICELLO                            Kl     Bl  Dg    Ac

Caitlyn Cruise                               0      0   15      1

Corinne Gadient                           5      2      5      2

Savanah Kremer                          0      0    11      1

Jordan Kuper                              13     1      9      3

Maddie Lambert                           3      2      5      0

Rileigh Lambert                            5      3      0      0

Macy McDonough                        0      0      7      0

Lauren Ries                                  7      1      4      0

Shalay Bronemann                       5      0      2      0

Jaelynn Kraus                               2      0      6      0

Maria Recker                                0      1      1      0

Totals                                          40    10    65     7

Assists – M. Lambert 3, McDonough 2,

Ries 2, Gadient 1, R. Lambert 1.

Serving leaders – M. Lambert 11-11,

Kuper 13-14.

Set scores

Monticello                     25   17   26   25 

Anamosa                      19   25   24   20