Runner-up finish at Midland is highlight of busy stretch

     Monticello won four of six matches to finish second place in the Midland Tournament Sept. 1, the highlight of a busy six-day stretch for the Panthers.

     The Panthers also lost a pair of tough River Valley Conferences, at home against rival Anamosa Sept. 4 in three sets; and at Northeast of Goose Lake Sept. 6, in five sets.

     Monticello came out of the week 0-2 in the conference, 7-8 overall.

     The Midland Tournament involved seven teams playing a round robin format, so each team had six matches.

     “We served aggressively and moved well on defense (during the tournament),” Monticello coach Stacie Breitbach said.

     The Panthers lost a three-set match to Calamus-Wheatland to open the tournament, by scores of 22-20, 13-21, 15-17. Jordan Kuper had 13 kills and Jaelynn Kraus had 10 in that match. Tori McDonald put up 11 assists, and Mallory Steiner added 10.

     Against Cascade, Monticello lost 18-21, 15-21. Kuper had nine kills, Steiner had nine assists, and McDonald made eight assists.

     Monticello then scored a 21-10, 21-13 win over Central City. Kuper had 11 kills, and Steiner made nine assists. Carly Hayen had two blocks.

     Next, the Panthers knocked off Springville 23-21, 21-19. The team had 29 digs, led by Sophie Hodge and Kraus with five apiece, Kuper and McDonald with four each, and Beka Prull, Leah Holub and Steiner with three apiece.

     Breitbach said the Springville match was one of the best Monticello played that day.

     “We played Springville really tough,” she said. “The games were close, but we played to win and kept swinging aggressively.”

     It took three sets, but the Panthers also toppled Bellevue Marquette, by scores of 21-16, 17-21, 16-14. Kuper had 12 kills in that match, and Steiner had eight assists. Prull served 17-for-19 with five aces.

     Then, the Panthers defeated Midland 21-10, 21-11. Kraus had eight digs, Steiner had eight assists and two aces, and Kuper had seven kills.

     The Anamosa match brought an increased noise level to the refurbished Monticello gym, as the two neighboring rivals – now conference rivals once again – battled.

     “Our cheering section was phenomenal, and the gym was the loudest it has ever been during a volleyball match,” Breitbach said.

     Monticello lost in three sets, however, by scores of 21-25, 23-25, 18-25.

     “Anamosa has a really well-balanced offensive attack, with five hitters that can score for them, and it was difficult to defend against,” Breitbach said.

     In each of the first two sets, the Panthers were right there with chances to win. Monticello led the first set 14-13, and the teams were tied 16-16, before Anamosa won nine of the last 14 points.

     The second set was a see-saw battle, with Monticello holding leads of 10-8, 16-11 and 21-19. The Blue Raiders then won five straight points to take a 24-21 lead. A service error for Anamosa, and a ball hit out of bounds, cut it to 24-23. A key dig by McDonald during that point kept the set alive.

     But the Blue Raiders scored the next point, taking a 2-0 lead for the match, and then made leads of 10-4 and 17-11 stand in the third set.

     “We played much better this time against Anamosa (than in the Cascade Tournament Aug. 25),” Breitbach said. “The girls played together; we just couldn’t score the points down the stretch to get the ‘W.’ ”

     Kuper had 14 kills, 13 digs, three blocks and served 12-for-12 against Anamosa. Steiner had 15 assists and served 11-for-11. Hodge also served 11-for-11, and McDonald was 10-for-10. Marissa McNally had two blocks.

     On Sept. 6, the Panthers suffered what they hope will turn out to be the most heartbreaking loss of the season, at Northeast of Goose Lake.

     Monticello jumped to a 2-0 match lead by winning the first two sets 25-13, 25-11, but lost the next three 22-25, 17-25, 14-16 as the Rebels took the match.

     “We went away from what got us the two wins, and played more ‘not to lose’ than to win,” the coach said.

     It was another big night for Kuper, who had a season-high 22 digs, along with 13 digs, three blocks and five aces on 19-for-20 serving. Steiner had 19 assists and two aces, while McDonald had 18 assists and 10 digs. Kraus had eight digs, and Hodge had seven. Kraus also served 14-for-14. Hayen had three blocks, while Kraus and McNally had two each.

     “I am not worried about these losses definining us,” Breitbach said. “Our girls come ready to compete every time we hit the court. We are continuing to get better.”

 

Sept. 1

Midland Tournament

Round-robin play

Cal-Wheat 2, Monticello 1

MONTICELLO                            Kl   Bl  Dg  Ac

Jaelynn Kraus                             10    0      7      0

Jordan Kuper                              13     1      7      1

Tori McDonald                              1      0      5      1

Beka Prull                                     3      0      2      2

Mallory Steiner                              0      0      7      0

Carly Hayen                                  0      0      1      0

Megan James                               0      0      3      0

Leah Holub                                    0      0      5      0

Marissa McNally                            1      0      1      0

Totals                                           28     1     38     4

Assists – McDonald 11, Steiner 10,

McNally 3, Kraus 1.

Serving leaders – Prull 11-11, Steiner

9-10, McDonald 8-9.

Set scores

Monticello                   22   13   15

Calamus-Whtld.          20   21   17

 

Cascade 2, Monticello 0

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl    Dg    Ac

Jaelynn Kraus                              3      0      6      2

Jordan Kuper                                9      0      3      0

Tori McDonald                              1      0      1      0

Beka Prull                                     3      0      1      0

Mallory Steiner                              0      0      5      0

Carly Hayen                                  3      1      1      0

Lainey Fellinger                             0      0      1      0

Sophie Hodge                                0      0      6      0

Leah Holub                                    0      0      0      0

Marissa McNally                            0      0      1      0

Clara Finger                                   0      0      0      0

Totals                                           19      1     25     2

Assists – Steiner 9, McDonald 1, Kraus 1,

McNally 1.

Serving leaders – Steiner 9-9, Kraus 8-8.

Set scores

Monticello                        18   15

Cascade                          21   21

 

Monticello 2, Central City 0

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl    Dg    Ac

Jaelynn Kraus                              3      1      1      0

Jordan Kuper                              11     1      1      1

Tori McDonald                              1      0      2      0

Mallory Steiner                             0      0      3      1

Carly Hayen                                  4      2      0      0

Beka Prull                                     2      1      0      0

Lainey Fellinger                            0      0      2      0

Sophie Hodge                               0      0      1      2

Megan James                                0      0      0      0

Leah Holub                                    0      0      0      0

Marissa McNally                            1      0      1      0

Clara Finger                                   0      0      2      0

Jordan Lorenzen                            0      0      0      2

Kenna Melchert                              1      0      0      0

Totals                                            23     5     12     6

Assists – Steiner 9, McDonald 6, Hodge 1,

Kuper 1, McNally 1, Finger 1.

Serving leaders – Steiner 10-10, Hodge

7-7, Lorenzen 8-9.

Set scores

Monticello                    21   21

Central City                 10   13

 

Monticello 2, Springville 0

MONTICELLO                            Kl     Bl   Dg    Ac

Jaelynn Kraus                              3      1      5      1

Jordan Kuper                               6      0      4      1

Tori McDonald                              1      0      4      0

Beka Prull                                    2      0      3      0

Mallory Steiner                             1      0      3      0

Carly Hayen                                 3      0      0      0

Sophie Hodge                              0      0      5      1

Leah Holub                                   0      0      3      0

Marissa McNally                           1      0      1      0

Totals                                          19     2     29     3

Assists – McDonald 8, Steiner 8, Kraus 1,

Kuper 1, McNally 1.

Serving leaders – Kuper 8-8, Steiner 10-11.

Set scores

Monticello                    23   21

Springville                   21   19

 

Monticello 2, Bel. Marquette 1

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl    Dg    Ac

Jaelynn Kraus                              3      0      6      0

Jordan Kuper                              12     2      6      0

Tori McDonald                              3      2      2      0

Mallory Steiner                             0      0      2      1

Carly Hayen                                 3      1      0      0

Beka Prull                                     2      0      9      5

Megan James                               0      0      1      0

Leah Holub                                   0      0      4      0

Marissa McNally                           0      1      0      0

Sophie Hodge                               0      0      6      0

Lainey Fellinger                            0      0      1      0

Clara Finger                                  0      0      0      0

Jordan Lorenzen                           0      0      0      0

Totals                                           23     6     37     6

Assists – Steiner 8, McDonald 6, Kuper 2,

Hodge 1, Kraus 1, Prull 1.

Serving leaders – Steiner 13-14, Prull

17-19.

Set scores

Monticello                   21   17   16

Bel. Marquette            16   21   14

 

Monticello 2, Midland 0

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl    Dg   Ac

Jaelynn Kraus                              4      1      8      0

Jordan Kuper                               7      1      1      0

Tori McDonald                              4      0      1      1

Beka Prull                                     2      0      1      1

Mallory Steiner                             1      0      2      2

Carly Hayen                                 1      1      1      0

Sophie Hodge                               0      0      1      0

Marissa McNally                           0      0      0      0

Megan James                               0      0      0      0

Leah Holub                                   0      0      1      0

Clara Finger                                  0      0      1      0

Kenna Melchert                             0      0      1      1

Totals                                           19     3     18     5

Assists – Steiner 8, McDonald 5, Kraus 2,

Kuper 2.

Serving leaders – McDonald 9-9, Steiner

10-11.

Set scores

Monticello                      21   21

Midland                         10   11

 

Sept. 4

Anamosa 3, Monticello 0

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl    Dg    Ac

Jaelynn Kraus                              5      0      2      0

Jordan Kuper                              14     3    13      0

Tori McDonald                              1      0      5      1

Beka Prull                                     0      1      2      0

Mallory Steiner                             0      0      5      0

Carly Hayen                                  6      1      0      0

Sophie Hodge                               0      0      4      1

Lainey Fellinger                             1      0      2      0

Marissa McNally                            0      2      0      0

Megan James                                0      0      0      0

Kenna Melchert                             0      0      0      0

Totals                                           27     7     33     2

Assists – Steiner 15, McDonald 7, Kraus 1.

Serving leaders – Kuper 12-12, Hodge

11-11, Steiner 11-11, McDonald 10-10.

Set scores

Anamosa                       25   25   25

Monticello                      21   23   18

 

Sept. 6

Northeast 3, Monticello 2

MONTICELLO                            Kl    Bl    Dg   Ac

Jaelynn Kraus                              7      2      8      1

Jordan Kuper                              22     3     13      5

Tori McDonald                              4      0     10      1

Beka Prull                                     5      0      2      0

Mallory Steiner                              0      0      8      2

Carly Hayen                                  4      3      0      0

Sophie Hodge                               0      0      7      0

Lainey Fellinger                            0      1      1      0

Marissa McNally                            2      2      2      0

Megan James                                0      0      4      0

Kenna Melchert                             0      0      1      0

Clara Finger                                   0      0      2      1

Leah Holub                                    0      0      2      1

Jordan Lorenzen                            0      0      0      0

Totals                                           44     11    60    11

Assists – Steiner 19, McDonald 18, Kuper 2,

McNally 2, Hayen 1, Hodge 1, Holub 1.

Serving leaders – Kraus 14-14, McDonald

12-12, Kuper 19-20.

Set scores

Monticello                    25   25   22   17   14

Northeast                     13   11   25   25   16