Stags get the upper hand and win the battle of the undefeated in Mount Pulaski

[February 07, 2018] 

Benjamin Franklin said there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes. But in Logan County a third thing can be added to that list. Number three is any volleyball matchup between Mount Pulaski and Hartsburg-Emden will be intense, thrilling and exhausting. These girls will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Tuesday night the Honeybears had the home court advantage in the Bob Gasaway Gymnasium but it was the Stags that held the upper hand in a sensational junior high volleyball matchup.

An intense 7th grade match between Hartem and Mount Pulaski saw the Stags claim victory, 25-22 and 25-22.

The undefeated Stags 7th grade team marched into Mount Pulaski Tuesday night and defeated the Honeybears 7th grade team 25-22 and 25-22, giving that Donna Dulle squad their first loss of the season.

Hartem was led by Cassie Crabtree with 9 kills and and Lily Barry with 7 kills. The 7th grade

The 7th grade Stags volleyball team remains undefeated at 12-0.

Honeybears still post an impressive 13-1 record.

The Stags are a perfect 12-0.

In the 8th grade match, it took three sets to crown a winner but again the Stags came out on top. Mount Pulaski did take the first set 26-24 while Hartem came from behind to take the second set 25-23. The Stags controlled the third set and went on to take it 25-17 over Mount Pulaski.

Barry going up for a kill at the end of the 8th grade match versus Mount Pulaski.

Lily Barry led the Stags here with 15 kills. Cassie Crabtree came up big again for Hartem with 6 kills.

The Stags are 12-1 here with their only loss coming at the hands of Illini Central.

Cassidy Clark (20) at the net for Mount Pulaski and Lily Barry (11) awaiting the serve for Hartem.

Cassidy Clark had some huge hits for Mount Pulaski and she ended up with 17 kills.

JeNa Rentmeister and Alexis Wade each had 7 kills for Mount Pulaski.

The Mount Pulaski 8th grade team holds a 10-3 record now.

Stags Head Coach Jennifer Hayes was happy, exhausted and confused following Hartem’s sweep of Mount Pulaski Tuesday night. “I just told them there was no practice Friday and they were like tomorrow’s Wednesday and I was like, oh...well we do have practice tomorrow,” she laughed. “Oh my life. I am going so many different ways I don’t know what day it is.”

“It was intense,” said Coach Hayes, completely in focus now. “That was some great junior high volleyball. Two very solid teams. There were some great saves on both sides. If you wanted to see great junior high games this was it. It was probably the best two solid teams that we’ve played this year. Really, all the way through with no real weak spots, well-coached and well-versed. They had hitters, servers, passers, they serve-received and they didn’t make many errors for junior high. This is right up there with Illini Central.”

Illini Central has given the Hartem 8th grade team their only loss this season.

Recap of the 7th grade match:

This was the match that featured the two undefeated teams hitting the court at 6 p.m.

The match went back and forth quickly with the scores knotted anywhere from 6-6 to 18-18 to 22-22. You get the picture that it was anybody’s win for the taking.

But as always with volleyball the momentum shifts back and forth on a dime. To break the 18-18 tie Hartem’s Lily Barry, who has a vertical jump that hits the 30 inch mark, got on top of one and sent it flying at speeds you just don’t see at the junior high level. The look on some in the stands was utter disbelief.

Moving on Barry would record another kill to give Hartem a 22-20 lead but Mount Pulaski got a huge block from Grace Davis on the next play and Mount Pulaski was not giving in. A miss by Barry would tie the game at 22-22. But then the Mount Pulaski server was caught with her foot on the serving line and Hartem fed off that mistake.

With Abby Montgomery serving flawlessly for Hartem, the Stags would go on to victory.

Addie Beekman’s tip for the final point caught Mount Pulaski by surprise and the Stags claim set one 25-22.

Set two featured some very long volleys and saw Hartem getting the better end of most of those to take an 8-3 lead. Then two monster back-to-back kills by Barry right in front of the Mount Pulaski crowd prompted Coach Hayes to turn around to the stands and say, “I wish I could have taught her to do that,” said the smiling Stags coach, “but she’s a freak of nature.”

Assistant Coach Bethany Dulle explains to the Honeybears what it takes to beat the Stags.

Give credit to Coach Dulle’s resilient 7th graders, though. They had their own tricks up their sleeves and crawled right back into this one. They were pumped up with a little help from the MPGS cheering section that chanted all night long.

Hailee Daigh snuck in a tip from behind to make the score 13-7, still in favor of the Stags.

The Stags still held a 17-10 lead after a huge kill by Cassie Crabtree but then Mount Pulaski got a run and took advantage of a few Hartem errors.

JeNa Rentmeister is just a dangerous middle hitter for the Honeybears and she knocked down a couple kills that kept Mount Pulaski in the running.

Keyleigh Stewart then tied the game at 20-20 on a serve that just barely went over the net for Mount Pulaski.

Mount Pulaski would take a 22-20 lead with Stewart at the service line but that Barry just wouldn’t go away. When she couldn’t get a good swing, she would just tip the ball over and she did just that to make the score 22-21. Then Barry returned to kill mode on the next play and the score was tied 22-22.

A Mount Pulaski hitting error and ace serve by Cloee O’Donoghue put the Stags up 24-22.

Hartem earned the 25-22 victory on a hit gone wrong by Mount Pulaski. The ball ended up being caught by the referee on the final play and that ended that match.

The 1A Stags remain undefeated at 12-0 and for the 2A Honeybears, they still boast an impressive 13-1 record.

Recap of the 8th grade match:

Cassidy Clark set the tone early for Mount Pulaski in set one. Her kill to start things off was just the beginning of her putting on a show for the crowd.

Clark and Barry were both fun to watch in the front row in the 8th grade contest. While they both exchanged kills and maybe a glancing look here and there, they also had fun blocking each other at the net, sort of. Barry blocked Clark at one point and it looked like the force of that hit may have hurt Barry’s wrist just a bit. Pain doesn’t stop either one of these from competing.

This set again saw a series of ties. The score moved from 15-15 to 20-20 pretty quickly. Mount Pulaski took a 23-22 lead on a long tip by Clark.

Hartem was actually called for an illegal hit on the play but the next go ‘round saw Barry tie the game on, you guessed it, one of those “I want to just annihilate the ball” plays.

With the score knotted at 24-24 a couple Hartem players miscommunicated and the ball dropped in the middle of them. An instant later another moment of miscommunication as two Stags ran for the ball and nobody got it in the air. Mount Pulaski takes set one of the 8th grade match 26-24.

Mount Pulaski ran out to a 6-2 lead in set two after a sweet kill by Alexis Wade. Wade’s ace serve later on would give the Honeybears a 9-5 lead. Mount Pulaski controlled the game until the score was 13-13.

You give the Stags a chance to come back and they will. A Barry kill gave Hartem the 14-13 lead.

The game would still go back and forth, resting at 18-18 and then again at that 22-22 score these girls could not get away from all night.

Following a timeout Barry would emerge and get the perfect set and throw it down on the Honeybears for a 23-22 Hartem lead. A tip by Barry put Hartem up 24-22 but then a mistake by Barry made the score 24-23. An illegal hit was the call on Barry but she bounced back quickly and again crushed the ball and the Honeybears hopes of a win.

Hartem takes set two 25-23.

By the time set three rolled around everyone in the gym was sweating. The gym was packed to the rafters and it felt like someone had cranked up the heat. It was warm.

Hartem stormed out to a 4-1 lead but Mount Pulaski came back to tie it like this: A kill by Clark, a kill by Wade and an ace by Makenna Wilham.

Barry put Hartem on top 5-4 with a kill next. Hartem actually kept the lead and control of set three from this point on.

With the score 19-12 Clark had another huge kill for Mount Pulaski but the Stags were just going to run away from the Honeybears.

When Barry can’t hit from the front row, she can crush it from that ten foot line and she did just that to make the score 22-15.

Crabtree’s kill made the score 23-15 and the Honeybears were beginning realize it would take a miracle to mount a comeback at this point. The game ended as the Stags would see fit. A kill by Barry claimed the 25-17 victory.

The Stags 8th grade team improves to 12-1


Coach Jennifer Hayes demonstrates something to her attentive Stags during a timeout vs. Mount Pulaski.

That's a win for the Stags over Mount Pulaski at the Bob Gasaway Gymnasium.

Hartem 7A stats:

Points: Abby Montgomery 9

Kills: Cassie Crabtree 9
Lily Barry 7

Blocks: Cassie Crabtree 1
Lily Barry 1

Assists: Addie Beekman 9
Abby Montgomery 7

Digs: Lily Barry 6
Cassie Crabtree 3

Record: 12-0 overall

Hartem 8A stats:

Points: Addie Beekman 15

Kills: Lily Barry 15
Cassie Crabtree 6

Blocks: Lily Barry 3

Assists: Allison Woolard 13
Addie Beekman 10

Digs: Lilly Barry 7
Jenna Benner 6
Cloee O’Donoghue 6

Record: 12-1 overall

[Teena Lowery]