Panthers reach championship bracket at Cascade tourney
Jordan Kuper of Monticello (18) goes for a kill against Cascade during the Cascade Tournament Aug. 25. (Photos courtesy of Tyler Schneider, Cascade Pioneer)
Beka Prull of the Panthers reaches to block a Cascade hit.
There are several new faces on the floor for the Monticello High School volleyball team this season, but at the Cascade Tournament Aug. 25, the Panthers showed signs they can work well together.
Monticello won three out of four matches in pool play to advance to the championship bracket. There, the Panthers fell to fourth-ranked Dyersville Beckman in the semifinals, and then lost to Anamosa in a third place match to finish fourth overall.
“The girls came out playing hard, trusting each other and working well as a team,” Monticello coach Stacie Breitbach said. “Our offense came together nicely. With two new setters, this was awesome to see.
“We will continue to work on our defense, serve receive and defending the other team’s attacks.”
The Panthers opened with a 21-12, 21-13 sweep of East Buchanan. Breitbach said the first set of that match was the team’s best one of the day.
“We had no hitting errors, and served really well,” the coach said.
Jordan Kuper had nine kills, and Tori McDonald made 12 assists.
The Panthers then defeated North Linn 21-10, 21-10. Sophie Hodge had five digs in that match. (Sports Editor's note: The print version of the Express had this match as a North Linn victory; in fact, Monticello was the winner.)
Against Cascade, the Panthers lost 22-20, 14-21, 13-15. Jaelynn Kraus and Kuper had four kills apiece.
Monticello ended pool play with a three-set win over Jesup, losing 18-21 and then winning 21-18, 18-16. Mallory Steiner, served 70-for-71 with four aces for the tournament, was 18-for-18 against Jesup. Kraus had 10 digs, while McDonald had eight. McDonald and Steiner had 11 assists apiece.
“It was great to win a deciding set early in the season, because it proves to us that when the game is on the line, we can win,” Breitbach said. “We also knew that if we lost, we would be in the consolation bracket instead of the championship bracket.”
Beckman proved too strong for the Panthers in the semifinal round, winning 25-9, 25-10.
“They were able to serve aggressively, and that caused us some difficulties,” Breitbach said. “Then, when we did get things going, it seemed like they had an answer for everything we threw at them.”
Monticello then lost to Anamosa in the third place match, 15-25, 18-25. Kuper had seven kills, totaling 44 for the tournament. McDonald made seven assists, and Kraus had seven digs.
The Panthers (3-3) will play their first home match Aug. 30 against North Cedar.
Aug. 25
Cascade Tournament
Pool play
Monticello 2, East Buchanan 0
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Carly Hayen 4 0 0 0
Jaelynn Kraus 5 0 4 1
Jordan Kuper 9 1 5 0
Tori McDonald 1 0 2 0
Sophie Hodge 0 0 6 1
Beka Prull 3 0 2 2
Mallory Steiner 0 0 6 1
Megan James 0 0 0 0
Marissa McNally 1 0 0 0
Totals 23 1 22 5
Assists – McDonald 12, Steiner 6, Kuper 1,
McNally 1.
Serving leaders – Steiner 13-13, Prull
10-10.
Set scores
Monticello 21 21
East Buchanan 12 13
Monticello 2, North Linn 0
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Carly Hayen 2 0 0 0
Jaelynn Kraus 2 0 4 2
Jordan Kuper 5 2 3 0
Tori McDonald 0 1 1 0
Sophie Hodge 0 0 5 0
Beka Prull 1 1 1 0
Mallory Steiner 0 0 0 1
Megan James 0 0 0 0
Marissa McNally 1 1 0 0
Clara Finger 0 0 1 0
Jordan Lorenzen 1 0 0 1
Kenna Melchert 0 0 0 1
Totals 12 5 15 5
Assists – McDonald 5, Steiner 3, Kuper 1.
Serving leaders – Steiner 12-12, Kraus
10-11, Hodge 6-6.
Set scores
Monticello 21 21
North Linn 10 10
Cascade 2, Monticello 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Carly Hayen 1 0 1 0
Jaelynn Kraus 4 1 3 1
Jordan Kuper 4 2 4 1
Tori McDonald 0 0 2 0
Sophie Hodge 0 0 1 0
Beka Prull 1 1 0 0
Mallory Steiner 0 0 1 0
Megan James 0 0 1 0
Marissa McNally 1 0 1 0
Lainey Fellinger 0 0 1 0
Leah Holub 0 0 0 0
Totals 11 4 15 2
Assists – McDonald 6, Steiner 2, Hayen 1,
McNally 1.
Serving leaders – Steiner 12-12, Kuper
10-11, Kraus 7-8, Holub 6-6.
Set scores
Monticello 22 14 13
Cascade 20 21 15
Monticello 2, Jesup 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Carly Hayen 3 0 0 0
Jaelynn Kraus 5 0 10 0
Jordan Kuper 15 5 5 1
Tori McDonald 1 2 8 0
Sophie Hodge 0 0 5 0
Beka Prull 4 0 1 1
Mallory Steiner 0 0 4 0
Megan James 0 0 1 0
Marissa McNally 1 0 0 0
Clara Finger 0 1 0 0
Leah Holub 0 0 0 0
Totals 29 8 34 2
Assists – McDonald 11, Steiner 11, Hodge
2, McNally 2, Hayen 1, Kuper 1.
Serving leaders – Steiner 18-18, Kuper
10-11, McDonald 7-7.
Set scores
Monticello 18 21 18
Jesup 21 18 16
Semifinals
Dy. Beckman 2, Monticello 0
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Carly Hayen 0 0 0 0
Jaelynn Kraus 3 0 2 0
Jordan Kuper 4 3 2 0
Tori McDonald 2 0 2 0
Sophie Hodge 0 0 1 0
Beka Prull 1 0 2 1
Mallory Steiner 0 0 1 0
Megan James 0 0 1 0
Leah Holub 0 0 0 0
Marissa McNally 0 0 0 0
Kenna Melchert 1 0 0 0
Totals 11 3 11 1
Assists – McDonad 2, Steiner 2, James 1,
Kuper 1, Prull 1.
Serving leaders – Hodge 4-4, Steiner 5-6.
Set scores
Monticello 9 10
Dy. Beckman 25 25
Third place match
Anamosa 2, Monticello 0
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Carly Hayen 1 0 0 0
Jaelynn Kraus 2 0 7 0
Jordan Kuper 7 0 4 1
Tori McDonald 1 1 1 1
Sophie Hodge 0 0 1 0
Beka Prull 3 0 3 0
Mallory Steiner 0 0 1 2
Megan James 0 0 3 0
Marissa McNally 0 0 1 0
Clara Finger 0 0 1 0
Leah Holub 0 0 3 0
Totals 14 1 25 4
Assists – McDonald 7, Steiner 3, Holub 2,
Hodge 1.
Serving leaders – Steiner 10-10, Kuper
7-7, McDonald 5-5.
Set scores
Monticello 15 18
Anamosa 25 25
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