Stewartville Makes Their Return to the State Tournament.
The rivalry between two talented teams, Stewartville and Kasson-Mantorville, continued at Saturday’s match. It ended with tears of heartache and joy as the Stewie Tigers defeating the KM Komets in 4 sets. The Tigers reclaimed the section title and…
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Continue ReadingThe rivalry between two talented teams, Stewartville and Kasson-Mantorville, continued at Saturday’s match. It ended with tears of heartache and joy as the Stewie Tigers defeating the KM Komets in 4 sets. The Tigers reclaimed the section title and earned a trip to the state tournament; their first since 2015.
This is a shift in power, as KM has recently taken over as the unofficial top team in SE Minnesota. For the last decade, both programs have been developing some of the best collegiate volleyball players at every division. Saturday was no different, as die-hard fans were treated to a great display of sportsmanship and top-notch play.
The Players: Both teams have a handful of players who have been on our rankings and already signed with prestigious college programs. Stewie has their key three Kaitlyn Prondzinski, Jaidyn Brower, and Erin Lamb. Noticeably missing from their line up is a Libero. The tigers have long been known for having their top players play all the way around. They use Lamb as a primary passer and also for backrow attacks.
Likewise, KM has their big guns: Emily Terry, Mya Seuss, and Maddie Converse. Many of the Kasson players have been spending the club season at Southern Minnesota Volleyball in Rochester. Even a few of the Stewartville players have branched out and joined SMV. Creating power teams that combined the skills of Terry and Prondzinski.
Others improved their stock, proving these teams’ roster are loaded with talent. They include Kasson’s Noelle VanOort, Cate Wanous, and Avery Irish. For Stewartville Jolie Stecher, Allie Elliot, and Lilly Welch all had great performances.
The Coaches: John Dzubay, one of the most well known and most winning-est coaches in the state has led the Tigers to over a dozen of state-tournament entries and a handful of championships. Then entered Kasson’s family of volleyball the VanOorts. Adam and his wife Yvonne, have helped the KM program to mature. And in recent years, they have been able to edge out Stewartville. This year, however, the Tiger’s threats were to great.
The Match: The first two sets were evenly exciting with the Tigers taking the first easily and KM firing back in the second. This made the third a crucial turning point. The score teetered back and forth even for the first ten points, a long service run by Prondzinski and back-to-back service errors and net calls hurt Kasson.
Then like a true leader, senior Emily Terry, answered back with a few huge plays, helping her side regain momentum. They used her on the outside and with each rotation, she moved along the net where she helped block and ran her fast-footed slide.
The Tiger’s responded with strategic hitting. They scored a lot of points off their power tips. Even the back row players, Lamb and Prondzinski, who were being triple blocked by Kasson, used their roll shot to catch the defense off guard. They wrapped up the third set with a score of 25-16.
Things looked up for Kasson in the start of the fourth set. They came out with some amazing defensive plays and a few big block by Suess. The crowd erupted when the officials called Lamb for a “throw” on her tips twice. However, KM was a little too aggressive on serving and missed several at crucial times in the set. That is when Steartville started pulling away with smart setter dumps, tooling KM’s big blockers, and a few ace serves. They sealed the win with a few quick kills from Lamb in the middle and earned their trip to state.
They will enter the tournament as a favorite to win. They lived up to their ranking all season and can enter the tournament with confidence of having defeated one of the best teams in the state.
November 2, 2019 Stats (as published in Post-Bulletin)