SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (June 20–June 26)
SIX RIVERS CONFERENCE ALL-STAR VOLLEYBALL MATCH: West 4, East 1
HIGHLAND — As opponents the past four years, Potosi’s Abby Kaiser and Benton’s Emma Lawrence led their teams to some epic battles on the volleyball court.
As teammates last Friday night, the dynamic duo helped the West All-Stars dominate their East counterparts to claim the conference bragging rights at the third annual Six Rivers Conference Senior Showdown All-Star Volleyball Match hosted by Highland High School.
Kaiser pounded down a match-high 19 kills and Lawrence followed with 11 blistering blasts as the West rolled over the East, 25–7, 25–18, 28–26, 25–19, 23–25, in the five-set senior showcase to gain a 2–1 edge in the all-time series.
Barneveld’s Taryn Pickarts tallied 10 kills and Pecatonica’s Taetum Pagel chipped in with nine kills for the East All-Stars.
The West stormed out of the gates early, getting a sideout on a kill from Lawrence to opened the match, and then Shullsburg’s Faith Ubersox stepped to the line and served up eight straight points to build up a quick 9–0 advantage.
The West extended its lead to 17–5 thanks to four kills from Kaiser and two more from her Chieftain teammate Sophie Langkamp, and closed the set on an 8–2 scoring run to seal a lopsided 25–7 decision.
The West started off strong once again in set two with Highland’s Kylie Esser serving up five consecutive points with a pair of aces to thrust her team into an early lead.
That lead swelled to 9–1 before the East used a four-point run to cut the deficit in half, however the West responded right back with an 11–6 spurt to open up a 20–11 lead.
The East fought back within six points thanks to a pair of kills by Pagel and a kill and an ace from Juda’s Hailey Kammerer, but their comeback bid was thwarted by a Kaiser kill that sealed a 25–18 win for the West.
After putting up a fight at the end of set two, the East went into set three ready to battle and battled they did with Argyle’s Morgan Nelson scoring back-to-back kills early in the set to give the East its first lead of the night at 3–1.
The lead traded hands four more times before three missed serves, three unforced hitting errors and a net violation by the West along with an ace by Barneveld’s Kennedy Barsness allowed the East to take a 16–11 advantage.
Barneveld’s Cortney Skaife served up an ace and Golden Eagle teammate Jessica Walker followed with a tip kill to give the East their largest lead of the night at 21–15, but the West was about to go down quietly.
Kaiser got the West the serve back with a scorching spike kill, and then took her turn at the service line where she served up six straight points– with an ace, two kills from Lawrence and single kills from Langkamp and Potosi teammate Grace Morgan– to put the West ahead 22–21.
The teams traded the lead four more times in the set. The East took a 26–25 lead on another service error by the West, but Ubersox answered with a kill to even the score at 26 all and an East hitting error put the West ahead to stay. With the set and the match on the line, Ubersox and Belmont’s Kassandra Palzkill combined for a game-winning block kill as the West secured the victory with a 28–26 win.
With the match already decided, the teams continued to play out all five sets. Morgan (three kills) and Palzkill (two kills) teamed up to lead the West to a 4–0 advantage with a 25–19 win in set four.
The East avoided being swept by taking down the West, 25–23, in the fifth set. Pickarts registered five of her kills in the final set, while Pagel and Pec teammate Grace Keast each recorded three kills for the East.
The West held a 59–36 advantage over the East in kills, a 13–7 advantage in aces and a 4–2 advantage in blocks in the match en route to their 4–1 victory.
Langkamp tallied eight kills and a block and Palzkill added six kills and two blocks, while Morgan finished with seven kills for the West, who tallied 42 of their 59 kills in the first
three sets.
Esser recorded a match-high four aces with Benton’s Kelsie Goffinet adding three aces while leading the team in assists. Ubersox had two aces in the match along with two kills and a block.
Keast had five kills and Nelson added four kills for the East, who had just four kills over the first set and a half but found their hitting stroke to notch 32 kills over the final three and a half sets.
Barsness served up a pair of aces, while Kammerer and Walker each scored a block kill for the East.
The big winner on the night proved to be the Madison Children’s Hospital, who will receive a donation of $840 from the Six Rivers Conference from funds raised at the gate and a bake sale held at the event. In the past three years, the All-Star match has raise nearly $2,500.
3rd Annual Six Rivers Volleyball Senior Showdown
(Friday, June 22 @ Highland)
East All-Stars…. 7 18 26 19 25
West All-Stars… 25 25 28 25 23
Stat Leaders (unofficial) – EAST — Kills: Taryn Pickarts 10, Taetum Pagel 9. Blocks: Jessica Walker 1, Hailey Hammerer 1. Assists: na. Aces: Kennedy Barsness 2. Digs: na. WEST – Kills: Abby Kaiser 19, Emma Lawrence 11. Blocks: Kassandra Palzkill 2. Assists: na. Aces: Kylie Esser 4. Digs: na.
