Control at the net is important.
Montezuma dominated play up front and swept past Lynnville-Sully 3-0 Monday night, Oct. 28, at home in the quarterfinal round of the Class 1A volleyball regional tourney.
Scores were 25-20, 25-12 and 25-19.
The win sends the Bravettes (20-16) into the regional semifinals. They’ll take on 24-6 North Tama, the fifth-rated Class 1A team in the state, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, in Traer.
One statistic was telling in Monday’s match: Montezuma had 14 blocks. That’s quite a few in three sets.
“We knew that we needed to be aggressive at the net,” said Coach Katie Dunlap.
Dylan Holland led with five blocks. Korinn Kehoe had three, and Waverly Roorda and Shanae Wetering had two each.
The Bravettes had success attacking, too. Ashlyn Krousie and Shelby Conger had 10 and nine kills, respectively.
The Bravettes defended the entire court: Maddy McKeag had 12 digs, Krousie had nine and Conger came up with eight.
“We worked on our basic fundamentals,” Dunlap said.
That included serving, where four out of six Bravettes who served reached double figures in successful attempts. Katie Reynolds was 14-for-14 and Holland was 14-for-15 with three aces.
“Our key to success has been our ability to play together,” Dunlap said.
Lynnville-Sully, which finished its season at 18-8, entered having won nine of its previous 12 matches.
Two of the losses were to SICL champion Belle Plaine. The other: To the Bravettes, 3-1, on Oct. 1.
Montezuma has won eight of its last 10 matches.
“There are always things to learn and grow from,” Dunlap said.
That may include a previous meeting with North Tama, in the Redhawks’ tournament way back on Sept. 7, when North Tama won 2-0.
“But we’re very excited about the chance to take them on this Thursday,” Dunlap said.
Bravette stats
Kills – Ashlyn Krousie 10, Shelby Conger 9, Waverly Roorda 6, Shanae Wetering 5, Dylan Holland 1, Korinn Kehoe 1.
Assists – Roorda 20, Katie Reynolds 12.
Digs – Maddy McKeag 12, Krousie 9, Conger 8, Reynolds 6, Roorda 2, Holland 1.
Blocks – Holland 5, Kehoe 3, Roorda 2, Wetering 2, Conger 1, Krousie 1.
Serves – Reynolds 14-14, Holland 14-15 with 3 aces, Roorda 12-13, Krousie 12-15 with 2 aces; Conger 9-10, Kehoe 6-6.
