Win at Cascade, tournament success are MHS highlights
It was a winning week – and a busy one – for the Monticello High School volleyball team last week.
The Panthers (3-0, 14-6) won a non-conference home match against Center Point-Urbana Sept. 13, swept rival Cascade Sept. 15 at Cascade, and won three of five matches in the Springville Tournament Sept. 17, taking third place overall.
“We lost to the number one and number two ranked teams in 1A (in the tournament), and beat the number five-ranked team in 1A,” Monticello coach Stacie Breitbach said. “We played with intensity and purpose, and it was fun to be a part of.”
Against CP-U, the Panthers won 28-26, 25-19, 20-25, 25-20.
The key to defeating Center Point-Urbana might have been the first set, when the Panthers three times faced set point, only to come from behind and win 28-26. Monti was down 23-24, 24-25 and 25-26, coming up with the tying point each time.
A kill by Abby Sharlow tied the match for the last time, at 26. CP-U hit a ball into the net, and then hit one out, enabling the Panthers to pick up the win.
Jayden Kuper had 26 kills and Mia Jaeger had 41 assists in the match. Monticello also had a strong defensive performance, recording 80 digs, including 17 by Keziah McQuillen, 15 by Kuper, 13 by Jaelyn Aitchison and 12 by Jaeger. Madilynn Kromminga served 12-for-12 with three aces.
Monticello and Cascade have traditionally had long, close matches in the past, but on Sept. 15 at Cascade, the Panthers took control and kept it. Monticello won 25-17, 25-20, 25-14 to sweep the Cougars.
Cascade was within a point at 21-20 in the second set, but Monticello scored four straight, including a kill by Sharlow, to pull it out. Monti broke the third set open with five straight points to turn a 15-10 lead into 20-10, and later won it on a kill by Kuper.
Jaeger had 24 assists in that match. Lanie Luensman had 12 digs, and Kuper notched a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs.
Then came the Springville tournament Saturday. Monticello defeated North Cedar in three sets, 21-12, 14-21, 15-8; edged Burlington-Notre Dame 21-9, 16-21, 16-14; and lost to North Tama 14-21, 21-19, 9-15.
The 2-1 pool play record put Monticello in the semifinals against Springville, and the Panthers lost 21-25, 25-21, 11-15.
Monticello then slipped into a consolation match, and defeated Cascade for the second time in three days, 21-13, 21-9.
Luensman had 11 digs against North Cedar, Jaeger had 18 assists and served 18-for-18 with two aces against Burlington-Notre Dame, and Kuper had 15 kills in the North Tama match, while Aitchison served 13-for-13.
“Burlington-Notre Dame was a great win,” Breitbach said. “They have the number two kill leader in the state, and we were able to adjust our defense scheme and control the ball when we needed to.”
Against Springville, Kuper had 17 kills and Lacie Koppes added eight, as Jaeger had 25 assists. Luensman had 13 digs, Kuper had 12 and Jordan Fangmann had nine.
“We realize that we can play with anyone; now we just need to beat those good teams,” Breitbach said.
In the Cascade consolation match, Kuper had 12 digs. Jaeger had 12 assists and served 13-for-13.
Sept. 13
(at Monticello)
Monticello 3, Center Pt.-Urb. 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Mia Jaeger 3 0 12 2
Jayden Kuper 26 4 15 0
Keziah McQuillen 5 0 17 0
Lanie Luensman 0 0 5 1
Abby Sharlow 4 0 2 0
Madilynn Kromminga 0 0 3 3
Bella Mullen 2 0 4 0
Jordan Fangmann 0 0 3 1
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 13 1
Lacie Koppes 8 2 6 0
Totals 48 6 80 8
Assists – Jaeger 41, Luensman 1, Kuper 1,
Koppes 1, Kromminga 1, McQuillen 1,
Aitchison 1.
Serving leaders – Kromminga 12-12,
Luensman 19-21.
Set scores
Center Pt.-Urbana 26 19 25 20
Monticello 28 25 20 25
Sept. 15
(at Cascade)
Monticello 3, Cascade 0
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Mia Jaeger 1 0 5 0
Jayden Kuper 12 2 11 3
Madison Butterworth 8 1 2 0
Lanie Luensman 0 0 12 0
Abby Sharlow 5 1 0 0
Bella Mullen 2 1 0 0
Jordan Fangmann 0 0 1 2
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 6 3
Lacie Koppes 3 0 4 0
Madilynn Kromminga 0 0 4 1
Totals 31 5 45 9
Assists – Jaeger 24, Luensman 2, Mullen 1,
Koppes 1, Butterworth 1, Aitchison 1.
Serving leaders – Aitchison 17-18,
Jaeger 11-12, Luensman 10-11.
Set scores
Monticello 25 25 25
Cascade 17 20 14
Sept. 17
Springville Inv.
Pool play, match 1
Monticello 2, North Cedar 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Mia Jaeger 1 0 9 6
Jayden Kuper 5 0 8 0
Madison Butterworth 6 0 2 0
Lanie Luensman 0 0 11 2
Abby Sharlow 3 1 0 0
Bella Mullen 0 0 1 0
Jordan Fangmann 0 0 4 0
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 6 0
Lacie Koppes 3 1 1 0
Madilynn Kromminga 0 0 0 0
Mya Hansen 0 0 0 0
Totals 18 2 42 8
Assists – Jaeger 14, Luensman 1.
Serving leaders – Luensman 5-5,
Aitchison 5-5.
Set scores
Monticello 21 14 15
North Cedar 12 21 8
Pool play, match 2
Monticello 2, Burlington-ND 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Mia Jaeger 0 0 5 2
Jayden Kuper 9 2 8 1
Madison Butterworth 6 2 4 0
Lanie Luensman 0 0 8 1
Abby Sharlow 2 2 1 0
Bella Mullen 0 2 1 0
Jordan Fangmann 0 0 5 1
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 6 0
Lacie Koppes 5 0 2 0
Madilynn Kromminga 0 0 0 0
Totals 22 8 40 5
Assists – Jaeger 18, Butterworth 1.
Serving leaders – Jaeger 18-18,
Luensman 8-8, Kromminga 5-5
Set scores
Monticello 21 16 16
Burlington-ND 9 21 14
Pool play, match 3
North Tama 2, Monticello 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Mia Jaeger 0 0 9 0
Jayden Kuper 15 2 6 0
Madison Butterworth 3 0 1 0
Lanie Luensman 0 0 10 1
Abby Sharlow 2 1 2 0
Bella Mullen 0 0 1 0
Jordan Fangmann 0 0 4 0
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 5 0
Lacie Koppes 5 0 5 0
Madilynn Kromminga 0 0 0 0
Totals 25 3 43 1
Assists – Jaeger 18, Luensman 1.
Serving leaders – Aitchison 13-13,
Jaeger 9-9, Fangmann 7-7.
Set scores
Monticello 14 21 9
North Tama 21 19 15
Bracket play, semifinal
Springville 2, Monticello 1
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Mia Jaeger 3 0 9 1
Jayden Kuper 17 2 12 3
Madison Butterworth 2 0 4 0
Lanie Luensman 0 0 13 1
Abby Sharlow 1 1 2 0
Bella Mullen 3 0 2 0
Jordan Fangmann 0 0 9 0
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 7 0
Lacie Koppes 8 1 2 0
Madilynn Kromminga 0 0 2 0
Mya Hansen 0 0 0 0
Totals 34 4 62 5
Assists – Jaeger 25, Luensman 2, Kuper 2,
Mullen 1, Fangmann 1.
Serving leaders – Jaeger 12-12,
Kuper 10-10, Kromminga 5-5.
Set scores
Monticello 21 25 11
Springville 25 21 15
Consolation match
Monticello 2, Cascade 0
MONTICELLO Kl Bl Dg Ac
Mia Jaeger 0 0 3 4
Jayden Kuper 12 0 5 2
Madison Butterworth 0 1 4 0
Lanie Luensman 0 0 0 0
Abby Sharlow 1 0 1 0
Bella Mullen 0 0 1 0
Jordan Fangmann 0 0 2 0
Jaelyn Aitchison 0 0 5 4
Lacie Koppes 2 1 0 0
Madilynn Kromminga 0 0 1 0
Totals 15 2 22 10
Assists – Jaeger 12, Butterworth 2.
Serving leaders – Jaeger 13-13,
Aitchison 11-11.
Set scores
Monticello 21 21
Cascade 13 9