Panthers win one of three in tourney
Monticello found itself in a very competitive pool during the season-opening Cascade Invitational Aug. 29.
There were 12 teams involved, but they were split into three pools, and teams only played within their pool. There was no bracket play.
The Panthers found themselves up against Jesup, ranked 10th in Class 2A, and Dyersville Beckman, second in 2A, along with East Buchanan. Monticello defeated East Buchanan two sets to one, but lost to Jesup 1-2 and to Beckman 0-2.
“I thought the day was a great learning experience,” Monticello coach Stacie Breitbach said. “We have a young team, and will continue to learn roles and gain confidence.
Monticello opened against Jesup, and lost 22-20, 10-21, 8-15. The Panthers trailed Jesup by five points in the first set before rallying to win.
“We did lose the match, but we played as a team and proved that we can come back, and we can make good decisions,” Breitbach said.
Bronwyn Hodge had five kills in the match, and Tori McDonald had eight assists. DeLainy Fellinger made 11 digs. Emma Hynick served 11-for-11 with an ace.
The Panthers then topped East Buchanan, losing the first set 15-21 but bouncing back to win 21-12 and 15-4.
“I think we served strong against East Buchanan and kept them out of system,” the coach said. “This provided us with free balls and we were able to run more offense.”
The Panthers served 96 percent against the Buccaneers, led by McDonald, who served 21-for-21 with three aces, and made 10 assists. Hynick had six kills and two aces, and Beka Prull had five kills and two blocks. Fellinger had eight digs. Hodge had two blocks.
Monti then lost to Beckman 14-21, 10-21. Hynick had four kills and five digs in the match.
“Beckman is a tall and aggressive team,” Breitbach said. “We did some nice things against them, but made too many unforced errors to win.”
Aug. 29
Cascade tournament
Pool play
Jesup 2, Monticello 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
DeLainy Fellinger 0 0 11 0
Emma Hynick 2 2 3 1
Bronwyn Hodge 5 2 0 0
Tori McDonald 2 1 3 0
Beka Prull 3 3 0 0
Mallory Steiner 0 0 4 0
Madison Butterworth 2 2 0 0
Keziah McQuillen 0 0 4 0
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 2 0
Piper Hansen 0 0 0 0
Totals 14 10 27 1
Assists – McDonald 8, Steiner 2, Hynick 1,
Fellinger 1.
Serving leaders – Hynick 11-11, Steiner
8-8, McDonald 8-8.
Set scores
Monticello 22 10 8
Jesup 20 21 15
Monticello 2, East Buchanan 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
DeLainy Fellinger 0 0 8 0
Emma Hynick 6 1 0 2
Bronwyn Hodge 3 2 0 0
Tori McDonald 1 0 3 3
Beka Prull 5 2 1 1
Mallory Steiner 1 0 1 0
Madison Butterworth 3 1 0 0
Keziah McQuillen 3 0 3 0
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 3 0
Emma Sperfslage 0 0 0 0
Jordan Fangmann 0 0 0 1
Totals 22 6 19 7
Assists – McDonald 10, Steiner 3,
Fellinger 3, Butterworth 1, Prull 1.
Serving leader – McDonald 21-21.
Set scores
Monticello 15 21 15
East Buchanan 21 12 4
Dy. Beckman 2, Monticello 0
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
DeLainy Fellinger 0 0 4 0
Emma Hynick 4 0 5 0
Bronwyn Hodge 2 0 0 0
Tori McDonald 1 0 2 0
Beka Prull 2 0 0 0
Mallory Steiner 0 0 1 1
Madison Butterworth 2 0 0 0
Keziah McQuillen 3 0 1 0
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 1 0
Emma Sperfslage 0 0 0 0
Totals 14 0 14 1
Assists – McDonald 8, Steiner 3,
Fellinger 2.
Serving leaders – McDonald 5-5,
McQuillen 5-5, Steiner 7-8.
Set scores
Monticello 14 10
Dy. Beckman 21 21