High School Girls Volleyball
Stags finish in 2nd place at Quincy Tournament

 

[October 10, 2023] 

The Hartsburg-Emden Stags had an incredible weekend at the 47th Annual Quincy Invitational Volleyball Tournament. The team finished the day Saturday with a 4-1 record and a second place finish among 16 teams at the long-running tournament.

Hartem Coach Jennifer Hayes was proud of her team on many levels and not just for their performance on the court but for the way they carried themselves off the court as well.

“The Stags had a great weekend at a major tournament in Quincy this weekend,” said Hayes. “As the smallest school there, we were impressive. I love how the 3A and 4A schools have no idea who we are and then after we win, they just shake their heads, not quite knowing how they lost. My girls played hard all day. Five matches in a single day is rough, mentally and physically. It was great to build grit for my team. I can honestly say they finished the day as strong as they started, maybe even more after they woke up. We lost in the championship match to IC Catholic Prep of Elmhurst, which is currently ranked no. 3 in Class 2A. No team scored 12 points on them all day and we took them to three sets. That’s a win even if we got second place.”

In the championship match, the Stags defeated IC Catholic Prep 25-23 in the first set before falling in the last two sets 17-25 and 12-25.

Alayna Briggs led the team with 13 kills in the championship match and Addie Beekman added 10 kills.

Beekman also had 26 digs against IC Catholic while Briggs had 15 digs.

Celia Cross had 29 assists for Hartem.

Emma Eeten led the Stags with 6 blocks.

Addison Beekman and Celia Cross were also named to the all-tournament team.

Off the court, Coach Hayes received kind words about her players and herself. The staff at the tournament was impressed with the team and Coach Hayes, citing that the team was “polite and they worked really hard.” As for Coach Hayes, the staff noted that she was “just a really good positive coach.”

After their successful weekend in Quincy, the Stags now have a 22-3 record on the season.

The Stags won this prestigious tournament in 1998 and 2006.

Stags scores and stats from the tournament:

Match #1

Stags defeated Springfield High School 25-22, 18-25 and 15-13.

Points

Cloee O’Donoghue 8
Sadie Williams 7
Addie Beekman 5

Kills

Alayna Briggs 11
Addie Beekman 9
Emma Eeten 5
Sadie Williams 4
Ellie Klokkenga 3

Blocks

Emma Eeten 1

Assists

Celia Cross 27

Digs

Cloee O’Donoghue 9
Addie Beekman 8
Celia Cross 5

Match #2

Stags defeated Quincy High 25-15 and 25-19.

Points

Alayna Briggs 12 - 4 aces
Kylie Starcevic 8
Celia Cross 6

Kills

Addie Beekman 9
Alayna Briggs 7

Blocks

Alayna Briggs 3
Emma Eeten 2

Assists

Celia Cross 19

Digs

Addie Beekman 7
Cloee O’Donoghue 4

Match #3

Stags defeated Brown County 25-10 and 25-16.

Points

Sadie Williams 13 - 2 aces
Addie Beekman 10 - 6 aces

Kills

Alayna Briggs 9
Addie Beekman 6

Blocks

Emma Eeten 3
Alayna Briggs 2
Celia Cross 2

Assists

Celia Cross 18

Digs

Addie Beekman 6
Cloee O’Donoghue 4

Match #4

Stags defeated Freeburg 25-19, 22-25 and 15-12.

Points

Alayna Briggs 15
Addie Beekman 10
Sadie Williams 5
Cloee O’Donoghue 6

Kills

Alayna Briggs 15
Addie Beekman 10
Ellie Klokkenga 4
Emma Eeten 3

Blocks

Emma Eeten 4
Sadie Williams 3
Addie Beekman 2
Celia Cross 2
Alayna Cross 1

Assists

Celia Cross 25

Digs

Addie Beekman 19
Cloee O’Donoghue 16
Alayna Briggs 12
Kylie Starcevic 7
Sadie Williams 4
Celia Cross 3

Match #5

CHAMPIONSHIP

Stags lost to IC Catholic Prep 25-23, 17-25 and 12-25.

Points

Celia Cross 10
Addie Beekman 6
Alayna Briggs 6
Cloee O’Donoghue 5
Kylie Starcevic 5
Sadie Williams 5

Kills

Alayna Briggs 13
Addie Beekman 10

Blocks

Emma Eeten 6
Sadie Williams 3
Celia Cross 4
Alayna Briggs 2
Addie Beekman 2
Ellie Klokkenga 2

Assists

Celia Cross 29

Digs

Addie Beekman 26
Alayna Briggs 15
Cloee O’Donoghue 7
Kylie Starcevic 5
Celia Cross 4

[Teena Lowery with photo provided by Jennifer Hayes]