High School Volleyball
The Stags shoot down the Bullets on the court
Stags honor seniors Lexi Becker, Cassie Crabtree, Violet Merz, Abby Montgomery, Dani Phillips and Faith Sanders

[October 21, 2022] 

Hartsburg-Emden welcomed the Williamsville Bullets to town Thursday night for the last home game of the regular season and then sent them packing by handing them a 25-17 and 25-20 two-set loss.

Set One

The Stags raced out to a 9-3 first set lead over the Bullets. After an ace by Cloee O’Donoghue, the Stags lead was 12-5. After a huge block at the net by Faith Sanders and Cassie Crabtree, the Stags continued rolling with a 13-5 lead. Crabtree’s kill extended the lead to 14-5. The Bullets made a small run at the Stags, inching closer but still down 14-9. Crabtree dominated with a kill to put the Stags up 15-9. The Stags continued to hold a 5-6 point lead over the Bullets down the stretch. Celia Cross caught the Bullets off-guard with a tip at the net and with a 24-17 lead, Crabtree stepped to the service line and served the Stags to the 25-17 win.

Set Two

O’Donoghue was key in guiding the Stags to another 9-3 lead over the Bullets in set two. After an ace by Abby Montgomery, the Stags were looking to control this match with a 12-5 lead. After a kill by freshman Alayna Briggs, the Stags were up 13-7. With the Bullets surging, the Stags called a timeout with a 13-11 lead. Following the time out, Addie Beekman came through with a huge kill to stretch the lead to 14-11. The Bullets fought back to eventually tie the match 16-16 and even take a 17-16 lead over the Stags. Another kill from Briggs tied the match 17-17. Crabtree’s perfect kill down the line kept the game tight, 18-18 the score. The Stags would take a 19-18 lead after winning a long volley that ended with a tip by Crabtree. Hartem extended that lead to 20-18 after Crabtree and Cross came up big with the block against Williamsville. The Stags never relinquished the lead from this point on, and after a serve by Dani Phillips, Hartem was on top 23-20. After Beekman’s kill set the score at 24-20, the Stags were preparing to dance to a victory. Violet Merz simply returned the ball on defense after a serve by Crabtree and the Bullets were caught empty-handed. The Stags had reason to celebrate on Senior Night by picking up a set two win over Williamsville by a final score of 25-20.

Alayna Briggs led the Stags with 14 kills on the night.

Cassie Crabtree added 10 kills and Addie Beekman tossed down 7 kills.

Cloee O’Donoghue led the team with 8 service points and 4 aces. She also had a team-leading 12 digs.

Celia Cross led the team with 26 assists.

Crabtree was instrumental on defense with 3 blocks as well.

The Stags improved their record to 21-10 overall on the season.

The Stags JV team defeated Williamsville in two sets, 25-23 and 25-19 the scores.

Hartem will travel to Quincy this weekend to play in the Quincy Notre Dame Tournament.

Regionals will begin next week for the Stags at Illini Bluffs in Glasford.

[Teena Lowery]