Mount Pulaski volleyball bounces back to defeat Decatur St. Teresa
 

[September 12, 2018] 

What a difference 24 hours makes. Mount Pulaski head volleyball coach Donna Dulle was very proud of her team's comeback win over Decatur St. Teresa on Tuesday night at the Ed Butkovich Gymnasium but it took quite a turnaround for the Lady Toppers to come out on top.

"After last night's practice I thought we'd probably get beat 25-0 and 25-0," laughed Coach Dulle following the intense matchup between the two small school rivals. "It was a bad practice. There was no intensity. And after that first game tonight, I said to these guys, "That's how you practiced and you better turn it around."

After trailing the entire first set and even falling behind 19-11 at one point, Mount Pulaski just couldn't get it together and it looked like a short evening for fans. St. Teresa pulled out to a 20-14 lead and eventually took set one by a score of 25-14. Dulle and company were not happy as they had to pick up and move to the other side of the court for set two.

"We didn't pass the ball well at all that first game," said Dulle. "Skylar (Hayes) and Abigail (Fitzpatrick) really stepped it up on passing for us. Really stepped it up on passing," Dulle emphasized.

Indeed they did and they had no trouble hitting the floor in doing so. Between the two seniors, they had 27 digs. But the entire team stepped it up, too. The rest of the Lady Topper team combined for 35 digs against a group of hard-hitting, athletic Bulldogs who know how to play smart.

Set two certainly started better for Mount Pulaski. But it still looked like St. Teresa might be toying with the Toppers with the score knotted 4-4. Back-to-back kills brought life to Mount Pulaski and a 6-4 lead. Quickly the lead was jumping to 8-6 to 10-8 to 14-12 and the Mount Pulaski student section, who goes by the name Purple Reign Spirit Squad on social media, was going nuts. Kills by Cassidy Clark, which prompted the students to chant "She's a freshman!" and Abigail Fitzpatrick gave Mount Pulaski a 17-12 lead.

That grew to a 19-12 lead in a matter of seconds and a matter of errors on St. Teresa's part. Fitzpatrick added another monster kill to put Mount Pulaski in the driver's seat 20-13. An ace serve by Madison Thomas put the Lady Toppers up 23-14 and this was the way Donna Dulle knew her team was capable of playing. Morgan May's kill all but sealed the win, as she used that signature sneak attack to edge her team closer to victory, leading 24-15 at this point. A few Mount Pulaski errors allowed St. Teresa to rattle off some points, but nothing real threatening. Mount Pulaski takes set two 25-18.

Set three started with a thunderous kill by Paige Stewart and it looked like the Lady Toppers were out to make a statement on their home court. St. Teresa, however, features an arsenal of power hitters in their own right and the Bulldogs ran out to 7-4 and 10-7 leads over Mount Pulaski. The Lady Toppers were going to have to work harder in this one to catch St. Teresa making mistakes. Before long Mount Pulaski trailed 12-9 and a three-point deficit was crucial in a match of this caliber. With Mount Pulaski behind 12-10, St. Teresa appeared to hit the ball out but the referees needed to get together to discuss things and the call ended up going the Bulldogs way. What could have been a 12-11 Bulldog lead turned into a 13-10 Bulldog lead. Dulle argued the ruling some more. She lost that battle, but her team only fought harder. Skylar Hayes' kill went down the baseline first then Fitzpatrick really got behind one and pounded it out of frustration maybe, but nonetheless the Lady Toppers edged their way back to just a 13-12 deficit.

The Mount Pulaski Lady Toppers use a timeout to plan their winning strategy late in the third set versus St. Teresa

Everyone seemed to be fired up at this point. Stewart's kill made the Bulldogs a little uncomfortable so a timeout was called with the score 14-13, still in favor of the visitors. Clark added a kill to keep the intensity in tact and Mount Pulaski trailed just 15-14.

Finally another kill by Hayes tied the score 15-15. The fans liked what they were seeing out of the senior-led squad. May's block was the turning point that gave Mount Pulaski a long-awaited lead, 16-15 now the score. Sophomore Chloe Olson won the battle at the net, no easy task against the taller Bulldogs, and her tip along with an immediate block of the ball coming right back at May only added to the Mount Pulaski lead and the excitement that came with it.

The Bulldogs managed to tie the game at 17-17 and 18-18 before Mount Pulaski pulled away.

A beautiful tip by Hayes at the net put Mount Pulaski up for good. Not only was a 19-18 lead the result of the nice play by Hayes, but it also showed how quick the senior can react and play the net, being fully aware of what is going on on the other side of the court. Quick and smart come in handy in volleyball. With May serving, Mount Pulaski stretched the lead to 21-18. Back-to-back kills by Stewart were the nails in the coffin and allowed for a 23-18 Lady Topper lead.

The Bulldogs snuck in a couple more points, but made a few costly mistakes at the end. Hayes added one more kill and following a long hit by St. Teresa, Mount Pulaski was able to capture the 25-22 victory in set three.

Dulle breathed a sigh of relief as the players and fans couldn't contain their excitement.

"I thought we played some pretty good defense and probably the key in that third game was we blocked their big hitters twice and slowed things down a little bit," said an exhausted Dulle. "But it was just an awesome game to be able to watch. Our girls came to life and our crowd was the most awesome crowd ever."

She's right. The Purple Reign Spirit Squad showed up in full-force and full of enthusiasm. The Hawaiian-themed student section was a hit and with a lively bunch of MPHS students in attendance, they definitely played a factor in the win.

"They kept us in the game and those fans have been phenomenal this year," said Dulle. "I hope they keep coming. They are awesome and we need them to keep us playing well."

Before Dulle focused her attention on the next game and the busy weekend ahead, she made mention of a couple other players who came up big in the comeback win.

"Morgan May is a quiet killer, like a heart attack," said Dulle of the senior who just quietly sneaks around the court, waiting to strike. "She had six kills for us tonight and she had those great kills at crucial times for us."

"Paige Stewart came in there at the last and really helped us. She had a couple good kills, too." Stewart finished with five kills. Her two kills near the end of set three were difference-makers for sure.

The Mount Pulaski Varsity team improves to 5-0 on the season. The Lady Toppers will host Delavan Thursday night. The Mount Pulaski Fall Festival Tournament begins Friday night at 5:00 p.m. and continues Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.

The Mount Pulaski JV team also defeated St. Teresa Tuesday night in two sets, 25-12 and 25-15 the scores. Cassidy Clark led the JV team with 9 kills. The JV team boasts an overall record of 7-3 after placing third in the Pawnee Tournament on Saturday with a 3-2 record.

Mount Pulaski Stats

Abigail Fitzpatrick 10 kills 15 digs 1 ace

Skylar Hayes 9 kills 12 digs

Morgan May 6 kills 9 digs 1 block

Madison Thomas 5 digs 2 aces

Chloe Olson 12 assists 2 digs

Isabella Wade 18 assists 9 digs

Taylor Trimmer 7 digs

Paige Stewart 5 kills

Savanah Moore 1 dig

Cassidy Clark 2 kills 2 digs

[Teena Lowery]