It came as no surprise Walton-Verona and Bishop Brossart played out the full length in Wednesday’s volleyball match.
The Bearcats have surged in 2023, off to a 9-3 start and having won seven straight games leading into the match with the Mustangs. Brossart was off to a 7-2 start, building on last season’s region championship run.
The two learned valuable lessons in the first five-game match for both teams. The Mustangs ultimately prevailed 3-2 (19-25, 25-10, 25-22, 25-27, 15-12) over the host Bearcats.
Brossart (8-2) won with its size at the net, serving and offensive rhythm. The Mustangs did it without their top setter in freshman Aubrey Rebholz, who was out sick. Rebholz has a team-high 145 assists. Josie Reckner and Nadia Shurley led the efforts there with 22 and 11 assists, respectively, out of 45 Brossart assists.
“It showed them what kind of effort that they have to give and how much they have to push through playing for five games,” said Danielle French, Brossart head coach. “That was in intense game for them and it showed them what we can expect playing for districts, regionals and things like that.”
After the first game, Brossart found a lot of holes in the Walton-Verona defense serving the ball with 15 aces, including nine in the second game. Kate Neltner and Callie Ritter led the Mustangs with five aces each and Jessie Keller had three.
Brossart then controlled its side of the net with 60 digs, 47 kills and nine blocks. Maddie Kremer kept a number of plays alive with 18 digs and Neltner had 16.
At the net, Payton Parker had team-highs of 11 kills and five blocks. Neltner and Addison Doughman had eight kills each with the 6-foot-1-inch Ritter and Maddie Sandfoss landing six each. Ritter added three blocks including two solo.
“The coaches have helped me a lot with my footwork and timing,” Ritter said of her blocking. “It’s definitely improved throughout the season.”
Walton-Verona (9-4) dug up 76 balls trying to pull off the win. Macie Godwin led the way with 18 with Isabella O’Brien and Annie Allen recording 15 each and Natalie Ferguson had 11.
The Bearcats had success serving with 10 aces and put up 35 assists, 36 kills and two blocks. Chloe McIntosh led Walton-Verona with 11 kills with Winter Vandiver and O’Brien recording nine each. Setter Amber Hall dished off a team-high 26 assists and Godwin had a team-high five aces.
The first game started off with Walton-Verona building a 4-1 lead on a Godwin ace. Brossart came back to tie it 7-7, but the Bearcats scored four in a row to go up 18-14. Godwin landed a kill to give the Bearcats the game.
“The rhythm was really good the first game,” said Katelyn Sallee, Walton-Verona head coach. “Brossart started blocking better and started serving us off the floor. Obviously, that’s going to shift things when we can’t hit the first ball in the air. We really didn’t get into rhythm the rest of the night. We just fought through in the fourth game. Chloe McIntosh came in, swung hard and aggressive and got us out of some tough spots. I told them we have to capitalize on that.”
Walton-Verona led 3-1 early in the second game. Brossart then ran off 11 straight points forcing Sallee to call both timeouts. Ritter had two kills and Neltner with two aces during the run.
The Bearcats went on a 3-0 run to trim it to 19-10, but Brossart finished it with a 5-0 run. Ritter landed two aces during the run.
Brossart started off the third game scoring the first four points and never trailed, led by a Parker kill and block. Walton-Verona rallied to trim the lead to one twice. Leading 23-22, the Mustangs prevailed on a Neltner kill and Walton-Verona net violation.
The Mustangs looked to finish things in the fourth game building a 7-2 lead off three Keller aces. That lead increased to 18-9 after a Doughman tip kill.
“It’s about just believing in each other and knowing that your teammates have your back and are going to be there on the court,” Keller said. “I think the bench cheering keeps us hyped. That helps a lot.”
The Bearcats rallied after Godwin landed two aces to trim it to 18-13 and eventually tied it 22-22. Doughman landed a kill to tie the game at 25. But McIntosh landed a kill and Brossart hit one wide to send it to a decisive fifth game.
“I did notice (Walton-Verona) move the defense and serve-receive around a lot because every single serve was a zone serve,” French said. “But they stuck with us the entire time. This is a whole new team. I’ve played them before with previous teams that I’ve coached. It was difficult for us at first, especially that first game.”
The fifth game stayed tight until Brossart scored four straight to break an 8-8 tie. Ritter landed another ace and Parker tallied two more kills. Up 14-12, Neltner finished the match with a kill.
Both teams play again Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Brossart plays host to Grant County (8-5) and Walton-Verona plays host to Boone County (4-11).