High School Girls Volleyball
Stags epic comeback over Tremont a total team effort

 

[September 18, 2024] 

The Hartsburg-Emden Stags dug themselves out of a big hole on their home court Monday night and staged an epic comeback to defeat the Tremont Turks in three sets.

Going into the contest both teams were pretty evenly matched, with each team having two losses this season.

Tremont hit the court with a 13-2 record and a no. 14 ranking in the most recent Class 2A MaxPreps Volleyball Poll.

Hartsburg-Emden came in with an 8-2 record and they were ranked no. 13 in the most recent Class 1A MaxPreps Volleyball Poll.

There was no doubt this would be a great night of volleyball.

In set one the Stags last lead was 22-21. The Turks would eventually claim a set one victory by a narrow margin of 25-23.

At one point in set two the Turks held a 23-15 lead over the Stags but with Kylie Starcivec consistently serving the last seven points in a row for Hartem, the Stags were able to celebrate a 26-24 win. A tip from the middle by sophomore Emma Eeten sealed the set two victory.

To quote Stags statistician Ron Crane after set two, “We got momentum. Let’s see if we can hold it.”

The Stags did just that. They only trailed by a point one time in set three. With junior Alayna Briggs really putting the hammer down in set three with 11 kills, the Stags were able to stun the Turks and shake hands at center court, having won set three by a 25-20 score.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I was ready to go cook supper,” said Hartem Coach Jennifer Hayes of the comeback win that saw her team down by double-digits nearly the entire second set.

In fact, one would have bet the whole farm, turkey farm in this case, that the Turks were going to walk out of the Hartsburg gymnasium with a quick two-set victory.

The entire Stags team showed great resilience Monday night.

Alayna Briggs reached a career-high 24 kills versus Tremont. Her arm had to be tired at the end of the night. She was really getting on top of the ball and managed to hit it so hard that it sounded like it was deflated more than a couple of times. Briggs is amazing.

Celia Cross had 36 assists. She runs the court with excellent vision. Her play at the net shows flashes of brilliance, whether it’s a set, a tip, a block or even a kill. She can set the tone early and guide the team better than just about anybody who has ever set foot on a volleyball court. Cross also added four kills. Her tall athletic frame allows her to do just about anything on the court. She’s a gem.

Cambelle Hopkins and Ellie Klokkenga finished with eight and six kills respectively and each one was just at the right time and place to give the Stags the boost they needed. Hopkins is a sophomore outside hitter and she has stepped up tremendously this season, as has Klokkenga, a junior. Their defense is really helping to pull the team together as well.

Addi Briggs, a senior who is new to the Stags squad, turned in a solid performance and she fits the pieces of the puzzle perfectly as a key member of the starting lineup. As an outside hitter she added four kills against Tremont.

Emma Eeten, a sophomore, has the height to intimidate at the net. She recorded five kills versus Tremont and her presence was felt as she raised her blocking game. So much potential here and plenty of time to keep getting better and better.

And if you need consistency at the service line and solid defense, you are going to get it from Sadie Williams and Allie Grelck. Along with Kylie Starcevic, these three are a triple threat from behind the line and in the back row. Starcevic is a senior and her left-handed serve is wicked.

Can’t leave out the final Varsity member ~ Jasey Bradburn. Bradburn smiles and cheers nonstop from the bench during every play. She never gives up on her team!

Something special is coming together in the little ole gym in Hartsburg this season and if you’re so inclined for a good game of volleyball, get there! The concessions are always good and if you’re lucky you might just go home with a cake.

Game time!

Set one

The Turks came to play and they brought an energetic crowd with them that really wanted to beat this Class 1A volleyball powerhouse program on their own turf. With a few errors plaguing the Stags early, the Turks took a 4-0 lead. Alayna Briggs’ first kill of the night would be a big bang that closed the gap to 3-5. A tip and another kill by Briggs and the gap was closing, 5-6 the score. After Ellie Klokkenga put down her first kill, the score was 7-7. Another kill by Klokkenga kept the fans engaged as the score was 8-8. The Turks had a strong front row that took an 11-8 lead over the Stags. After kills by Cambelle Hopkins and Alayna Briggs, the Stags still trailed 12-10. The two-point deficit continued for the Stags until finally they tied the set 17-17 and even went up 18-17 on a Turks error. Back-to-back kills allowed the Turks to take the lead again, this time 19-18. But Briggs would put the Stags up 21-20 with a kill. It was Briggs to the rescue again, putting her team up 22-21 on a kill but then the Turks had an answer with not just a kill, but a tip, too and that put them on top 23-22. After a timeout, the Turks used another tip to stretch the lead to 24-22. A Turks hitting error gave the Stags a point, but then it was right back to business for the visitors. The Turks ended set one with a kill into the block and 25-23 was the final here.

One interesting note from set one was a kick of the volleyball on defense by the Turks. Kicks are indeed allowed and this one was successful in getting the ball over the net. Good job, Turks. Even Ron Crane commented that it was a first for him to see a kick count on the volleyball court. And that man has seen a lifetime of volleyball.

Set two

Here we go again. It was the Turks taking that 4-0 lead that left the Stags a bit off-balance. Once the Stags were down 6-1, Coach Hayes called a timeout. It didn’t really change anything, except the score went from 6-1 to 10-1. Finally, Addi Briggs got a kill to give the Stags something to cheer about. Alayna Briggs would pick up a kill too, but the score was still pretty dismal. The Stags only had three points so far, but the Turks had managed to tally 14. Errors were just abundant and after a kill by the Turks middle hitter, a freshman named Nora Parsons, the score was 16-6. The Turks were getting good at keeping the Stags in a double-digit deficit, with scores of 18-8 and 20-10. There were just a handful of bright spots for the Stags up until now, one being a block by Celia Cross and Alayna Briggs. The Turks were just getting the ball to drop in their favor, whether it was a long tip, short tip, or a kill down the line, the volleyball was always hitting a spot on the court the Stags just could not reach in time.

Still the Stags did not give up the fight. Klokkenga’s kill made the score 21-13 while Briggs’ kill made it 22-15. With the score 23-15 in favor of the Turks, it really looked like the Stags were never going to catch a break and the game was soon going to be over.

But in any volleyball game, either team can be cursed with errors in a matter of seconds. And that’s just what happened to the Turks. A 24-18 score was the result of a few mishaps. But again it was the Turks who were just one point away from victory here. And Coach Hayes had told her team to focus on earning each point. It’s usually good to have some luck too.

All of a sudden after a lift was called on the Turks, the score was 24-20. Following a timeout, the Turks returned to make another mistake, this time a tip went out of bounds and the Stags earned another point. After a kill by Hopkins landed down the line, the Stags were getting closer with the score 24-22.

Could the impossible really be possible?

Then the Stags caught another break as the Turks were called for a lift again which was quickly followed by a hitting error. These mistakes led to a 24-24 score and the Stags crowd was going nuts. The game kept going and whatever the call was next, it led to another point for Hartem. Finally a tip at the net by Emma Eeten from the middle ended things on a positive note for the Stags. The Stags forced a third set by winning set two 26-24.

Miracles really are possible!

Starcevic served the final seven points successfully and she was able to walk off the court a hero. Give her a cape. She earned it.

Finally any hopes for “Big A” to have an early supper with Coach Hayes were out the window, or shall we say out the gym!

Fans were treated to some great volleyball in Hartsburg Monday night as the Stags defeated Tremont in three sets.

Set three

Let’s keep that momentum going, girls!

This time, it was the Stags coming out of the huddle seeking the lead early. They succeeded in going up 3-0 after a kill by Alayna Briggs found a hole in the Turks defense. Of course the Turks would tie the set, but then it was Briggs again with a kill for the 4-3 lead. Each team was fighting for a point and after a serve by Grelck fell just on the other side of the net and a successful kill by Briggs, the Stags were up 7-4. The game continued to be close with a kill by Hopkins making the score 9-7 and then a kill by Klokkenga making it a 10-8 ballgame. Three straight Stag errors put the Turks on top by a point and it took a kill by Briggs to tie the game again. Briggs then used a somewhat softer touch to find a hole during the next volley and Hartem took a 12-11 lead. A key play in the game was when Cross used a long tip to the far corner to keep the Turks chasing that ball and after it fell inbounds, the Stags lead was 13-11.

Down the stretch as the game intensified, there would be plenty of highlights. Briggs really put the hammer down and her kill kept the Stags on top 15-13. Following a terrific kill by Klokkenga, Hopkins rose to the occasion and hit a kill into the Turks block and this was cause for celebrating a 17-14 lead. The next big moment came when Klokkenga rattled the Turks cage on another kill. This gave the Stags an 18-15 lead. After Cross served an ace, the lead grew to 19-15. A few errors closed the gap to 19-17 but then it was a tip by the ever so smooth Hopkins and a 20-17 lead was the result. A kill by Hopkins put the next point on the board for the Stags and the victory was oh so close. Briggs put down back-to-back kills for the next two points. Her kill that made the score 23-20 really took the air out of the ball and certainly took the chatter out of the Turks fans. It was one of those deflating moments in more ways than one. Briggs really hurt that volleyball and didn’t seem to feel badly about it.

The Stags just needed two more points for victory and they were determined to get it. Grelck was teaching a masterclass on serving and as the ball zoomed over the net, the Turks were able to set it up, but Cross and Klokkenga combined on the block to prevent it from getting over.

Game point was gorgeous. The Turks were able to return the ball to the Stags and it was Sadie Williams with the perfect pass to Cross and Cross put the ball high up in the air for Briggs emerging towards the middle. With a heckuva wind-up by Briggs, those pink volleyball shoes took flight and she did what she had to do, right over the Turks tall senior middle. BOOM! The ball and the Turks defender, who did not have a chance, hit the ground at the same time and it was game over. Jubilation followed. There was even an epic chest bump between Cross and Briggs as the gym exploded in applause. Alec Hayes even got high fives from every player and the adrenaline rush had to be at an all-time high. The Stags take the final set 25-20.

Jennifer Hayes immediately told her girls in the huddle, “That was fantastic!”

Hayes had driven her point home earlier in the night in previous huddles that these were moments her team needed to learn from and move forward with each point.

So as two of the sweatiest girls emerged from the huddle following a fantastic victory, the question was posed, “What did you learn from this tonight?”

“I feel like it was a really good moment,” began Alayna Briggs. “We have a lot of younger players on our team that didn’t get a lot of playing time last year. I thought it was a good moment for us to learn that they can play too. They have grit and determination and can play high level Varsity matches.”

Celia Cross added, “I also think that it just showed us that even whenever we’re down, if we come together, we can win. I think we did a good job in not getting down on ourselves. Everybody still played as hard as they possibly could and that’s the only way we could’ve won that game.”

Coach Hayes was hyped up and ready to talk about the amazing comeback following the win. Although thoughts of feeding the Hayes boys supper were far from her mind at this point.

“This was a major shot of confidence for them to come back like they did,” said Hayes. “I told them that if nothing else tonight, besides gutting out a win, it proved to you that it doesn’t matter what the score is or how far down you are to losing, that if you work together as a team, point for point, and you support each other and you praise each other and do it together, that you can do anything at any time. The momentum of a game is going to shift in a millisecond and that’s what happened. They (Tremont) started making mistakes but we forced those errors. And then we had the momentum going into the third set and we maintained it.”

The Stags were up against a heavy senior lineup, plus one amazing freshman, in the Tremont Turks.

But with just three seniors on the Stags, Hayes relies heavily on her junior and sophomore class. Eeten, Grelck and Hopkins are each sophomores making a huge impact this season. Briggs, Cross and Klokkenga are the trio of juniors who are a handful for opponents.

“We saw a lot of growth from our young ones tonight,” added Hayes.

Finally as one fan walked by after the game, he said to Coach Hayes, “Not in our house.”

She smiled in agreement.

“Now these girls know how to come back for a win, no matter what,” she said. “We have sectionals in this gym and we know we have to protect our house. Nobody is going to come in here and beat us, no matter what it is and these girls proved it to themselves tonight.”

The Stags JV team also defeated Tremont. The JV won 25-19 and 25-17.

Varsity stats

Points

Kylie Starcevic 14
Allie Grelck 12
Cambelle Hopkins 9
Celia Cross 7
Alayna Briggs 5
Sadie Williams 2

Kills

Alayna Briggs 24
Cambelle Hopkins 8
Ellie Klokkenga 6
Emma Eeten 5
Addi Briggs 4
Celia Cross 4

Blocks

Emma Eeten 3.5
Celia Cross 2
Addi Briggs 1
Ellie Klokkenga 1
Alayna Briggs 1

Assists

Celia Cross 36

Digs

Cambelle Hopkins 17
Alayna Briggs 14
Celia Cross 14
Sadie Williams 6
Kylie Starcevic 6
Allie Grelck 6
Addi Briggs 2
Ellie Klokkenga 2

Record 9-2

JV stats

Points

Lydia Doolin 10
Cambelle Hopkins 10
Alexis Cannon 7
Ava Eeten 6
Allie Grelck 4
Jasey Bradburn 2

Kills

Cambelle Hopkins 13
Emma Eeten 8

Blocks

Emma Eeten 3
Cambelle Hopkins 2
Ava Eeten 1

Assists

Allie Grelck 12
Ava Eeten 5
Lydia Doolin 2

Digs

Ava Eeten 15
Cambelle Hopkins 10
Lydia Doolin 9
Allie Grelck 7
Jasey Bradburn 4
Sophia Bivens 3
Alexis Cannon 2
Lexi Wetherell 1
Dani Duringer 1

Record 5-1

[Teena Lowery]