BELMONT — The Belmont Braves volleyball team kicked off a busy week on the court by taking down the visiting Shullsburg Miners, 3-1, for their first Six Rivers West victory of the season at BHS on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
    The teams split a pair of 25-21 decisions to start the night with the Braves (2-10-1 overall, 1-3 SRW) jumping ahead by taking set one and the Miners (3-8, 0-4) answering back with a win in set two to even things back up at 1-1.
    Belmont regained the lead with a 25-16 win in set three, and then secured the match with a 25-20 decision in set four.
    Junior Elsie de Haan led a strong night at the net for the Braves with a match-high 17 kills. Senior Briana Ernst chipped in with 12 kills, 11 digs and three blocks, while fellow senior Kassandra Palzkill registered 11 kills and six blocks.
    Junior setter Nicole Knebel led the team with 35 assists and five aces, and junior libero Callie Wiegel recorded a team-best 20 digs. Senior Emma Buss had seven digs and four aces, and junior Sadie Willborn served up four aces for the Braves.
    Freshman middle hitter Kayla Klotz led the Miners with 13 kills. Junior Maggie Gleason added nine kills and two blocks, while senior Faith Ubersox contributed five kills and 10 digs.
    Freshman Layla Alt dished out 16 assists and had a team-high 14 digs. Sophomore libero Calli Jerry tallied 12 digs and had three aces along with senior Kindle Cook, and sophomore setter Reva Spillane chipped in with 13 assists for the Miners.
    Belmont dropped a five-set thriller at Highland, 23-25, 25-22, 27-29, 25-18 and 15-10, on Thursday, Sept. 9, and were swept by River Ridge, 3-0 (no scores available at press time), at home on Monday, Sept. 11.
    De Haan again led the Braves with 15 kills, while Palzkill and Ernst slammed 10 apiece. Knebel passed out 33 assists.
    Shullsburg returned home on Thursday to get swept by Benton, 25-16, 25-11 and 25-15, and the Lady Miners went 1-2 on the day at the Seneca Volleyball Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 9.
    Klotz pounded down nine kills and three blocks to lead the Miners on Thursday, and she recorded a team-high 16 kills at Seneca on Saturday.
    Spillane dished out 11 assists against the Zephyrs, and she tallied 21 assists, 21 digs and two blocks at the tournament. Jerry led the Miners with 28 digs and three aces at the Seneca Invite.   
    Next up, Belmont has a Six Rivers West match at Potosi on Tuesday, Sept. 19.
    Shullsburg has an upcoming Six Rivers West match at Cassville on Tuesday, Sept. 19.
   
Shullsburg……...  21   25   16   20
Belmont…………  25   21   25   25
Stat Leaders– Shullsburg– Kills: Kayla Klotz 13, Maggie Gleason 9, Faith Ubersox 5. Blocks: Gleason 2. Assists: Layla Alt 16, Reva Spillane 13. Aces: Kindle Cook 3, Calli Jerry 3. Digs: Alt 14, Jerry 12, Ubersox 10. Belmont– Kills: Elsie de Haan 17, Briana Ernst 12, Kassandra Palzkill 11. Blocks: Palzkill 6, Ernst 3. Assists: Nicole Knebel 35. Aces: Knebel 5, Sadie Willborn 4, Emma Buss 4. Digs: Callie Wiegel 20, Ernst 11, Buss 7.
At Belmont on Tuesday, Sept. 5
 
Belmont………. 25  22  29  18  10
Highland……… 23  25  27  25  15
Belmont Leaders– Kills: Elsie de Haan 15, Briana Ernst 10, Kassandra Palzkill 10. Blocks: Palzkill 2. Assists: Nicole Knebel 33. Aces: Sadie Willborn 7, Knebel 5, Ernst 4. Digs: Ernst 30, Callie Wiegel 23, Knebel 9.
At Highland on Thursday, Sept. 7
 
River Ridge………........  3
Belmont………….........  0
Belmont Leaders– Unavailable.
At Belmont on Monday, Sept. 11
 
Benton…………….  25     25     25
Shullsburg……….  16     11     15
Shullsburg Leaders– Kills: Kayla Klotz 9. Blocks: Klotz 3, Maggie Gleason 3. Assists: Reva Spillane 11. Aces: Faith Ubersox 1. Digs: Calli Jerry 10, Kindle Cook 9.
At Shullsburg on Thursday, Sept. 7

SENECA INVITATIONAL
Championship: 1st– Benton def. Seneca, 2-1.
 
Shullsburg Results–Shullsburg def. Edgar, 25-23, 25-21; Seneca def. Shullsburg, 25-12, 25-19; Brookwood def. Shullsburg, 25-18, 25-21.

Shullsburg Stat Leaders– Kills: Kayla Klotz 16, Faith Ubersox 7, Maggie Gleason 6. Blocks: Gleason 2, Reva Spillane, 2. Assists: Spillane 21, Layla Alt 10. Aces: Calli Jerry 3, Kindle Cook 3. Digs: Jerry 28, Alt 23, Ubersox 21, Spillane 21.
At Seneca HS, on Saturday, Sept. 9