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After the game the hard-hitting senior left-hander, who finished
with 12 kills, felt really good about the win. "It felt fantastic,"
said a smiling Strange. "Coming in here Mount Pulaski always brings
really good players. They have a really good team, really good ball
club and they're a good team all the way around." Strange continued,
"It felt really good to win. It was very exciting and I am very
happy."
It's obvious when these two teams meet there is an elevated level of
play, and Strange agreed, "I think it's because we know each other
and we're rivals so it's back and forth point to point and we are
all excited. It's just a really good game."
For senior Kaylee Beekman, who was celebrating her 18th birthday,
the win was certainly icing on the cake. When asked if she could get
a better present on her birthday, she answered eagerly, "Oh
definitely not. This was the best present. This was the only thing I
was hoping for on my birthday."
To prepare for the high-intensity matchup with Mount Pulaski,
Beekman, who led the Lady Stags with 16 kills, said the team worked
really hard in practice the night before. "We really prepared in
practice yesterday. We ran really hard drills to prepare for the big
middle (Mount Pulaski's Maddy Davis) and obviously it worked out
pretty well for us."
The win certainly did not come easy for Hartem and could have went
either way at the end, but the smaller school with an enrollment of
only 60 students prevailed, due much in part to never giving up and
fighting until the end. Coach Jennifer Hayes instills that fight and
confidence in her girls.
Coach Hayes called timeout in the third set with the score 22-21 and
gave her team a little motivational speech. "I said I am out of
timeouts. I said we're gonna give them a minute. I said this is it.
You can do it. We've come back from before. You can do it on the
court. You're a team that works together. Take care of it because I
know you can do it, you know you can do it, go out and do it now."
Coach Hayes agreed that both Mount Pulaski and Hartem elevate their
game when they meet on the court. "They do. Oh my gosh, did you see,
obviously you did, did you see Mount Pulaski dig? Oh my gosh! I mean
they were in the stands. We were in the stands. I mean It was
incredible. That's what it should be. That's what a homecoming game
should be. You've got two of the best teams in Logan County, in
Central Illinois, going at it and I don't think either one of us
gave each other anything. Each one took what they had and it just
came up that we won by two. I'll take it."
[to top of second column] |
Coach Hayes was also more than pleased with the outstanding
performance by Tearaney Eads, who was particularly focused on
getting a win. "She's been up and down and up and down. She's been
struggling a little bit. She said this is it and you could see it in
her eyes. So that was good. I was glad she had that," said Coach
Hayes of the young outside hitter.
Eads finished with 12 kills and again Coach Hayes gave the sophomore
her seal of approval. "That was awesome. She did a nice job." Those
kills do not come without a nice set though and senior Adreanna
Vetter hustled all night long to the tune of 47 assists for the Lady
Stags.
Shyanne Conrady also contributed to the outstanding defense by
coming up with 2 1/2 blocks, big blocks versus Mount Pulaski's tall
duo of Maddy Davis and Lilly Pickett. Sophomore Emme Olson rounded
out the Lady Stags defense as libero position (defensive specialist)
and she hit the floor time after time saving the ball.
Next up for the Lady Stags, Coach Hayes intends to let them enjoy
the Homecoming Dance this weekend and save the volleyball energy for
the court next week when they meet two tough opponents in Dee-Mack
and Williamsville.
In the meantime, the Lady Stags hard work has paid off with an
impressive 11-2 record so far this season.
Mount Pulaski's Maddy Davis had 14 kills and 5 blocks in the losing
effort for the Lady Toppers. Lilly Pickett and Skylar Hayes each had
5 kills and Alexandra Beckers had 26 assists. Emilee Burge had 2
kills and 3 digs while Abigail Fitzpatrick had 1 kill and 6 digs.
Mount Pulaski faces two tough opponents next week as well in
Springfield Lutheran and Illini Bluffs.
Mount Pulaski falls to 7-5 on the season.
[Teena Lowery] |
