Hartsburg-Emden wins Homecoming
game against Mount Pulaski
[October 03, 2025]
Stags coach Jennifer Hayes said it best.
Homecoming Game at its finest! Nothing better than one of the
longest rivalries between two local schools - Hartem and Mt.
Pulaski!”
It is always a sure bet when these two volleyball programs meet for
a regular season match. The gymnasium will be packed early and fans
will get their money’s worth, you can count on it!
On Wednesday night the two teams met in Hartsburg and while there
may have been a few nerves to start, it didn’t take long for the
Stags to settle in, throw down some monster kills and pick up a
victory.
Senior Alayna Briggs led the Stags with 12 kills and she is just
incredible on the volleyball court.
Briggs admitted to being a little nervous before the game versus
Mount Pulaski, knowing that the Toppers were much-improved from last
season.
“We had all talked about their strengths and weaknesses and we
capitalized on both,” said Briggs. “The whole team knew the plan and
we stuck to it, which made it a fun game. We knew Mount Pulaski was
a very scrappy team and had amazing defense so we knew that was a
part of our game that we were going to need to step up and our back
row did that.”
Cambelle Hopkins was a huge part of that back row and she led the
Stags with 10 digs. Hopkins is just a junior and she’s been a key
part of the Stags lineup for three years. She plays the front row
like a spider monkey at the net. She was close behind Briggs with 9
kills against Mount Pulaski.
Senior Celia Cross runs the show for the Stags and she does a great
job setting up her teammates. Cross tallied 19 assists versus Mount
Pulaski, just a typical night for her.
“I was also pretty nervous for the game,” said Cross. “It was point
for point the first 15 points of the game, but I think we really
stepped it up after that. We played really scrappy and our hitters
were being really smart with their swings. The big crowd for
homecoming definitely helped too!”
The Toppers, on the other hand, played tough defense, gave the Stags
some great volleys and held their ground very well despite being
down a couple key players.
Addison Brown and Audrey Cooper are both currently out for the
Toppers. Brown has been dealing with a knee issue and Cooper just
experienced a condition called Rhabdomyolysis. Incidentally, it is
the same condition that Kelsey Mitchell of the Indiana Fever
experienced in Game 5 of the WNBA Semifinals on Sunday. Rhabdo is a
breakdown of the muscle tissue and it can lead to some very serious
issues. It was very scary for both Mitchell and Cooper to go
through. Cooper’s mom, Sarah, said that Audrey is more mentally
clearer now but her legs are still very sore. Cooper is an
outstanding athlete who also excels on the basketball court.
Filling in as the libero for Mount Pulaski was freshman Haylee Cowan
and she did an amazing job against the heavy-hitters of Hartem,
finishing with six digs.
The Stags Varsity would win in two sets that took just about 20
minutes each.
Set one was 25-16 and set two was 25-13.
The Stags took the JV set in three, 25-19, 22-25 and 15-11.
Set one
This was a back and forth affair until the Stags took flight and
never came back down. Alayna Briggs got the first kill of the night
to make the score 2-1. After a long volley, Emma Eeten got the block
and the point for the Stags to increase the lead to 3-1. Elayna
Marten put down a monster kill of her own to trim the Stags lead.
After a tip by Mariah Stone, the Toppers tied the set 3-3. Briggs
put the Stags back on top with a kill. After a net call and an ace
by Cowan, Mount Pulaski was on top 5-4. Marten added another kill to
stretch that lead to 6-4. The Toppers were feeling pretty good after
a big block on Briggs and the 7-4 lead. Eeten added a kill next to
pump up her team. Another kill by Marten kept Mount Pulaski in front
8-6. But then it was time for Cambelle Hopkins to make her presence
known. Back-to-back kills by Hopkins tied the set. The kill to tie
was a bullet down the line in front of the Mount Pulaski bench.
Impressive. Olivia Smith’s kill that deflated the ball put Mount
Pulaski on top again, 9-8 the score now. The two teams then traded
errors for the next six exchanges. Five of those points were off of
long serves. After a Marten kill set the score at 14-14, the Stags
began to run away with set one. The Toppers handed the Stags a
couple points, and then Ellie Klokkenga got her hands on the
volleyball. A tip and a kill down the line by Klokkenga increased
the lead to 19-14. With Hopkins adding another kill, the score was
21-14. Mount Pulaski was able to squeeze in kills by Ella Martin and
Smith down the stretch, but Hopkins was too much to handle as she
added two more kills late in the set and the Stags closed it out
with a 25-16 win.
[to top of second column] |
Stags 2025 Homecoming Royalty: Dani Dueringer, Nolan Payne and
Kennedy McCree. Not pictured Brendan Armbrust. Photo by Teena Lowery
Set two
Marten and Smith gave Mount Pulaski a 2-1 advantage on a kill and an
ace, respectively, to start set two. Briggs gave her team the lead
on the next two kills. With Briggs adding another kill the Stags
lead was 6-3. After a tip and a block the Stags were up 8-3. A kill
by Hopkins kept the Stags in a respectable lead, 12-7 the score.
Smith put down a couple really good kills as Mount Pulaski was doing
their best to stay in it. The score showed 15-10 and that was as
close as Mount Pulaski would get. Briggs and Hopkins made sure of
it. A trio of kills by these two and an ace by Allie Grelck put the
Stags in a commanding 21-10 lead. Smith tallied one more kill for
Mount Pulaski and the Toppers also had a really good block on
Hopkins near the end, but the rest of the set was all Stags. Briggs
and Hopkins never stopped swinging and the set ended 25-13 in favor
of the Stags.
It was a nice win on homecoming as the Stags improved to 17-3 on the
season.
The school announced the homecoming court before the start of the
Varsity match.
King ~ Brendan Armbrust
Queen ~ Kennedy McCree
Prince ~ Nolan Payne
Princess ~ Dani Dueringer
Stags Varsity stats
Points
Allie Grelck 9
Ava Eeten 7
Alayna Briggs 6
Ellie Klokkenga 4
Celia Cross 3
Cambelle Hopkins 2
Kills
Alayna Briggs 12
Cambelle Hopkins 9
Emma Eeten 3
Ellie Klokkenga 2
Celia Cross 2
Blocks
Emme Eeten 3
Celia Cross 1
Alayna Briggs 1
Ellie Klokkenga 1
Assists
Celia Cross 19
Digs
Cambelle Hopkins 10
Alayna Briggs 4
Allie Grelck 4
Ava Eeten 2
Ellie Klokkenga 1
Celia Cross 1
Mount Pulaski stats
Elayna Marten 6 kills 7 digs
Olivia Smith 5 kills 12 digs
Aly Murphy 13 assists 5 digs
Ella Martin 2 kills
Haylee Cowan 6 digs
Stags JV stats
Points
Sophia Bivens 14
Ava Eeten 13
Layla Parrish 8
Lydia Doolin 7
Kylee Eads 7
Dani Dueringer 7
Kills
Kylee Eads 10
Ava Eeten 9
Lydia Doolin 4
Blocks
Lydia Doolin 1
Assists
Lydia Doolin 13
Ava Eeten 9
Sophia Bivens 4
Digs
Sophia Bivens 6
Lydia Doolin 6
Layla Parrish 4
Kylee Eads 3
Dani Dueringer 3
Ava Eeten 2
[Teena Lowery] |
