Rally lifts MHS into RVC finals before loss

   A rout in the first match. A rally in the second.

   Monticello’s strong run in the River Valley Conference North Division Tournament fell just short of the goal of a championship, as the Panthers narrowly lost to Dyersville Beckman in the finals.

   So, Monticello secured runner-up laurels in the tourney, held Oct. 13 at Northeast of Goose Lake.

   “We are working hard and continuing to improve on the little things that turn into big things when playing a good team,” Monticello coach Stacie Breitbach said.

   Unlike past years, when the entire conference would play in pools at various sites before coming together on a separate day for bracket play, this year’s event had separate tournaments for each division. In the case of the North, it was an eight-team, single elimination bracket.

   The Panthers opened with a quarterfinal match against Camanche, and eliminated the Storm in two quick sets, 21-8, 21-10.

   Lanie Luensman served 16-for-16 with seven aces in the match. Jayden Kuper had seven kills, and Mia Jaeger had 14 assists. Getting two blocks each were Keziah McQuillen, Abby Sharlow and Kuper.

   “We were able to handle their serving and did a nice job of controlling the ball on our side,” Breitbach said.

   Next came a semifinal match against Northeast. Monticello lost the first set 20-25 before rallying to win the last two, 25-16, 15-13.

   The teams were tied 9-9 in the second set before the Panthers went on a 14-5 run to lead by nine, and wound up winning by that margin.

   Monticello fell behind 1-5 and 5-10 in the third set, which was played up to 15. The Panthers pulled it back to 13-13, then won the final two points on an out-of-bounds hit by Northeast and a kill by Kuper.

   Jordan Fangmann served 19-for-19 with two aces in the match. McQuillen had 17 of the team’s 38 digs. Getting five digs each were Jaelyn Aitchison and Lacie Koppes with five apiece.

   Kuper totaled 15 kills, mostly off Jaeger, who had 18 assists. Sharlow had two blocks.

   “We executed things much better in game two and controlled the ball and tempo of the game better,” the coach said. “In game three we got down early, but the team came together and trusted one another. I was super proud of how well they worked together to overcome the early deficit.”

   The championship match against Beckman was close as well, before the Panthers fell 23-25, 21-25. Monticello trailed 10-15 in the first set, but rallied to take a brief lead at 22-21. The Trailblazers then scored four of the final five points.

   Monticello led the second set 10-6, before the Blazers scored six straight points to take the lead for good. The margin hovered between two and five points the rest of the way. The Panthers pulled it to 21-23, but two Beckman points ended it.

   “I think we got a little timid when the match got close,” Breitbach said. “We needed to stay aggressive and control the ball, as they are a good team.

   “Their outside hitters were aggressive, and we didn’t defend them as well as we should have.”

   Kuper had 11 kills and nine digs in the Beckman match. Koppes had five kills; Madison Butterworth and McQuillen had four kills each. Jaeger put up 23 assists. Dig leaders were Kuper and Luensman with nine apiece, and McQuillen with five.

   As for serving, Aitchison went 10-for-10, while Luensman and Jaeger each went 9-for-9.

   Monticello came out of the tournament with a season record of 22-10.

   The Panthers were scheduled to open regional play with a home match against Waukon Oct. 17; that result will appear in next week’s Express.

   “I like how determined our team is, and we plan on making a run in the postseason,” coach Breitbach said.

River Valley Conf.

North Division

Tournament

(at Goose Lake)

Quarterfinal

Monticello 2, Camanche 0

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl   Dg   Ac

Mia Jaeger                                   2      1     0      0

Jayden Kuper                               7      2     6      1

Keziah McQuillen                         1      2      4      0

Lanie Luensman                           0      0     2      7

Abby Sharlow                               1      2      0      0

Jordan Fangmann                        0      0      0      1

Jaelyn Aitchison                           0      0      0      0

Lacie Koppes                               3      1      1      0

Madison Butterworth                    3      0      0      0

Madilynn Kromminga                   0      0      1      0

Totals                                         17     8     14     9

Assists – Jaeger 14, Aitchison 2.

Serving leaders – Luensman 16-16,

Jaeger 7-7, Kuper 5-5.

Set scores

Monticello                     21   21

Camanche                     8   10

Semifinal

Monticello 3, Northeast 2

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl   Dg   Ac

Mia Jaeger                                   0      1     1      0

Jayden Kuper                             15      0     4      1

Keziah McQuillen                         1      1    17     1

Lanie Luensman                          0      0     2      2

Abby Sharlow                               0      2      1      0

Jordan Fangmann                        0      0      2      2

Jaelyn Aitchison                           0      0      5      0

Lacie Koppes                               4      0      5      0

Madison Butterworth                    1      0      1      0

Bella Mullen                                 0      0      0      0

Totals                                         21     4     38     6

Assists – Jaeger 18, McQuillen 2.

Serving leaders – Fangmann 19-19,

McQuillen 9-9, Aitchison 8-8.

Set scores

Monticello                    20   25   15

Northeast                     25   16   13

Championship

Dy. Beckman 2, Monticello 0

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl   Dg   Ac

Mia Jaeger                                   1      0     0      1

Jayden Kuper                             11      2     9      0

Keziah McQuillen                         4      1     5      1

Lanie Luensman                          0      0     9      1

Abby Sharlow                               0      0     1      0

Jordan Fangmann                        0      0      3      0

Jaelyn Aitchison                           0      0      4      0

Lacie Koppes                               5      0      0      0

Madison Butterworth                    4      1      3      0

Bella Mullen                                  0      0      0      0

Totals                                          25     4     34      3

Assists – Jaeger 23, Butterworth 1,

Aitchison 1.

Serving leaders – Aitchison 10-10,

Luensman 9-9, Jaeger 9-9.

Set scores

Monticello                   23   21

Dy. Beckman              25   25