Hartsburg-Emden Stags Varsity defeats Mount Pulaski 25-18 and 25-18 on Homecoming Night

[September 30, 2019] 

The Stags celebrated the return of junior Grace Beekman, who did not disappoint with 13 kills.

Beekman returns to the lineup focused on winning.

Beekman had surgery earlier in the season for a torn meniscus. Beekman might have played just a little safe in set one but she was without a doubt back to her original form in set two.

On the Mount Pulaski Lady Toppers side, sophomore Cassidy Clark was back in the swing of things, leading her team with six kills.
 

Set one

The Hartem Stags jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Mount Pulaski and that quickly escalated to a 7-1 lead. Mount Pulaski Head Coach Donna Dulle called a timeout to get her team strategy back in line. It didn't take long for Mount Pulaski to fight their way back into the game. A couple amazing kills by sophomore Cassidy Clark allowed Mount Pulaski to pull within four points, 11-7 the score.

But the Stags were on the attack and commanded an 18-11 lead with no sign of senior Emily Craig letting a ball hit the floor from the Stags back row until senior Paige Stewart managed to find a hole and keep Mount Pulaski's hopes alive.

The Lady Toppers used Stewart's kill to propel their momentum and before long it was down to a 19-17 Stags lead.

Alaina Bradburn, Grace Beekman, Avah Classen and Brianna Grabowski were all key players in the Stags win, each one excelling in their roles.

Hartem got an incredible kill from Alaina Bradburn that literally knocked freshman Hailee Daigh off her feet and the Stags were about to go on a run. After a kill by Brianna Grabowski the Stags led 24-17.

The final point of set one was awarded to Hartem on a double hit by Mount Pulaski.

Set one goes to the Stags 25-18.

Mount Pulaski took an early 3-0 lead in this set. Kills by Grace Beekman closed the gap to 4-2. Sami Perschall was tough on the block and her defense tied the game 4-4. Mount Pulaski continued to hold a slight advantage with the lead now 8-6.

A kill by Brianna Grabowski and the Stags took over with a 9-8 lead. The teams traded points until Beekman made a statement. She slammed the ball down with force to tie the game at 11-11.

Cassidy Clark seemed to be saying, "Two can play that game" as she annihilated the ball and put Mount Pulaski back on top 12-11.

Beekman didn't waste time getting a point back for her team on yet another kill.

The two teams were now tied at 12-12.

Hartem Junior Alaina Bradburn then slammed the ball from the middle and past the Lady Topper defenders to make the score 13-12 Stags.

Collin Schriber leads the Stags fan section once again this year. The rowdy bunch cheered for the Stags all night long as the team defeated Mount Pulaski on Homecoming Night.

A monster kill shortly thereafter by Beekman would give Hartem a 15-12 lead.

Back-to-back kills by Beekman again stretched the lead to 18-12, and if she was getting warmed up before, she was on fire now.

Another kill by Bradburn made the score 21-16 and Hartem was in control. The Stags cruised to take the match on their home court by a final of 25-18.

Hartem Coach Jennifer Hayes had reason to smile after the win, with her team looking really good with Beekman back on the court. "I think it was a great Homecoming game," said Hayes. "We had a great big crowd and it was super great to get Grace back on the court. The Mount Pulaski Fall Festival Tournament was the first time Grace was released to play some back row. She knew that when she got hurt five weeks ago that she was working back for this game. She wanted to start so this was the first time she got to start tonight. So I just let her go tonight. She was rolling and you could see everybody was excited. There was a lot of energy in here tonight. The crowd was great. The basketball boys came in and gave us a cooler of treats and drinks to wish us good luck, so it was just a fantastic night."

Hartem improves to 11-7 on the season.

She's BAAACKKKK...Grace Beekman returned from a torn meniscus and led all players with 13 kills.

Stags stats leaders on the evening included: Grace Beekman 13 kills, Brianna Grabowski 12 points, Alaina Bradburn 5 blocks, Avah Classen 14 assists and Emily Craig 19 digs.

Mount Pulaski took the JV game in two sets, 25-17 and 25-17.

Hartem also celebrated the announcement of Olivia Garcia as Homecoming Queen and Denver Merz as Homecoming King.

Mount Pulaski stats

Cassidy Clark 6 kills 3 digs
Paige Stewart 4 kills 4 blocks
Isabella Wade 5 assists 6 digs
Chloe Olson 1 kill 6 assists 3 blocks 2 aces 10 digs
Kenna Wilham 1 ace 5 digs
Alexis Wade 1 kill 1 block 11 digs
Kaylee Wilham 1 ace
Hailee Daigh 5 digs
Taylor Trimmer 1 ace 12 digs
Jena Rentmeister 3 digs

[Teena Lowery]