Stags earns Tomahawk Conference win over Mount Pulaski

[September 24, 2022] The Lady Toppers hosted Hartsburg-Emden on Thursday night and it was the visiting Stags getting the win over Mount Pulaski on their Homecoming Night. The win also gave the Stags the edge in the battle for the Tomahawk Conference. Hartsburg-Emden is 3-0 in the top spot and Mount Pulaski falls to 3-1 in the conference with the loss.

The two teams battled hard for three sets, with Mount Pulaski winning the first set 25-19. Hartsburg-Emden came out of the huddle swinging and took set two 25-13. Mount Pulaski held a lead early in the final set, but the Stags pulled away late and took set three 25-19.

Set one

Mount Pulaski was quick to jump to a 4-1 lead after a kill by Alexis Wade in set one. The Stags tied the game at 4-4 and this would be the beginning of the two teams exchanging points. The Stags took a 9-7 lead with Abby Montgomery at the service line. After back-to-back aces by Makenna Wilham, the Lady Toppers were on top 11-9. Despite a couple monster kills by Addie Beekman, Mount Pulaski held a 13-12 lead. The Stags were able to tie the game 13-13 but Mount Pulaski was backed by a Camo themed student section that added to their firepower. An ace from Grace Davis and then a kill on the next play by Davis put Mount Pulaski up 17-14 and forced the Stags to call a timeout. Mount Pulaski continued to control the rest of set one and after an ace from Wade, the score was 22-16. Cassie Crabtree and Alayna Briggs added a couple strong kills late in the set for the Stags but Mount Pulaski would go on to win 25-19 on one final serve out of bounds by the Stags.

Set two

An ace serve by Briggs started set two. Beekman followed with a kill and the Stags, as usual, weren’t going down without a fight. Hartem sped out to a 7-1 lead. After a kill by Violet Merz, the Stags were up 9-3. Back-to-back kills by Wade set the score at 9-5. A monster kill by Beekman settled the MP crowd down and the Stags had doubled up the Lady Toppers, 10-5 the score. After the Hartem defense watched a serve drop in their court, the lead was trimmed to 13-11. As Beekman hammered a couple kills on Mount Pulaski, the Stags lead was 16-13. This triggered a huge 9-0 run by the Stags and they went on to win set two 25-13.

Set three

The deciding set kept fans on the edge of their seats. Mount Pulaski would strike first, but Beekman was quick to tie the game 1-1 on a kill. Again the two teams would volley back and forth, with neither side given in for what would often feel like an eternity. After a kill by Wade, Mount Pulaski was on top 7-4. The Lady Toppers would even build a 13-7 lead before the Stags came marching their way back. On the attack, it was Beekman and Merz with some mighty kills to trim the lead to 16-14. With Beekman serving, the Stags were able to tie the game at 16-16. A kill by Briggs allowed Hartem their first lead since early on, 17-16 now in favor of the Stags. With the Stags going on a 4-0 run late in the set, the momentum certainly shifted. Faith Sanders capped off that 4-0 run with a kill from the middle for the Stags. Hartem took a 23-17 lead after an ace from Chloee O’Donoghue. Wade continued to pace the Mount Pulaski offense and she added another kill to make the score 23-18. A big block from the Mount Pulaski defense edged the Lady Toppers closer, 23-19 the score. But on the other side, the Stags were not about to let this one slip away. A kill by Crabtree made the score 24-19 and with the game on the line, the two teams volleyed for nearly a minute to settle the final score. Crabtree ended the game with a hit into the MP block that bounced out of bounds and gave the 25-19 set three victory to the Stags.

Addie Beekman led all players with 9 kills.

Violet Merz added 8 kills and Cassie Crabtree had 6 kills for the winning Stags.

For Mount Pulaski, Alexis Wade led the team with 8 kills and Grace Davis had 6 kills.

In the JV game, Hartem defeated Mount Pulaski in two sets, 25-21 and 25-23 the scores.

Hartem Stats

Kills

Addie Beekman 9

Violet Merz 8

Cassie Crabtree 6

Assists

Celia Cross 23

Digs

Addie Beekman 15

Alayna Briggs 11


Service Points

Celia Cross 14

Kylie Starcevic 14

Addie Beekman 12

Mount Pulaski Stats

Aces

Makenna Wilham, Senior 3

Grace Davis, Junior 2

Kills

Alexis Wade, Senior 8

Grace Davis, Junior 6

Digs

Hailee Daigh, Senior 16

Grace Davis, Junior 13

Makenna Wilham, Senior 13

Blocks

Alyson Murphy, Freshman 3

Hailee Daigh, Senior 2

Assists

Hailee Daigh, Senior 16

--

Teena Lowery

[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]  This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.