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Chieftains finish on top
Potosi goes 41 to win six-team round-robin Lancaster Invitational
potosi vb mckillip
Senior Brooke McKillip dominated defensively at Saturdays Lancaster Invitational making a team-high 101 digs to help Potosi go 41 to win the tournament.
Jason Nihles
Updated: Sep 14, 2016, 2:26 PM
Published: Sep 14, 2016, 2:28 PM

LANCASTER — After a long day that featured four previous matches, it all came down to one final set for Ric Walsh’s Potosi Chieftains.

Potosi was deadlocked with Viroqua at a set apiece with a chance to win the championship.

Behind another impressive performance from junior Abby Kaiser, the Chieftains prevailed in the decisive third set to defeat Virouqa 26–24, 23–25, 17–15 in a back-and-forth nail-bitter to finish the day 4–1 and win the six-team round-robin Lancaster Invitational Saturday.

Kaiser finished the day with a team-high 74 kills, 51 digs and five blocks to lead Potosi. Senior Brooke McKillip dominated in the back row with a team-high 101 digs.

Junior middle hitter Grace Morgan added 18 kills and seven blocks. Fellow junior Sophie Langkamp posted
17 kills and a team-best nine blocks.

“Blocking was a key factor with our rotation lineup on Saturday,” said Walsh.

Junior Kalynn Vosberg added 13 kills and a team-high 13 aces. Junior setter Hannah Udelhoven passed out 89 assists. Kate Nusbaum chipped in 39 assists, 26 digs and nine aces.

Potosi opened the day with a 25–17, 25–22 victory over the Lancaster varsity reserve, then dropped a close two-set match to Black Hawk 23–25, 25–27.

From there, Walsh’s Chieftains were playing catchup the rest of the day with no margin for error. But Black Hawk dropped a pair of matches — to Viroqua and Kickapoo — opening the door for Potosi’s championship run.

The Chieftains fought off Kickapoo in round three 25–18, 21–25, 15–8 then swept the host Arrows 25–13, 25–23 to earn a shot at the title with a fifth round de facto championship match against Viroqua.

“Overall it was a exciting tournament for the girls,” said Walsh. “A lot of good competition and towards the end we were able to find our groove. We had to battle hard, but we ended the tournament on top.”

The tournament championship was a bit of redemption for the Chieftains (5–5–1, 1–2 Six Rivers West) after a rough week in conference play.

Belmont swept visiting Potosi last Tuesday 25–23, 25–20, 30–28.

Senior middle hitter Caitlyn Gilbertson (eight) and junior Kassandra Palzkill (seven) combined for 15 kills to lead the Braves (5–6–1, 2–1 SRW) to victory.

Kaiser pounded a match-high 18 kills in the loss. McKillip made 22 digs and Udelhoven passed out 25 assists.

Two nights later, the Chieftains were on the losing end of a 25–21, 25–15, 25–20 decision against visiting Benton.
The Six Rivers West-leading Zephyrs (11–1–1, 4–0 SRW) rallied from a 16–15 deficit in game one, then cruised to an easy win in game two.

“We were never really in the second game,” said Walsh. “The girls’ focus was lost after having the lead and then losing it in first game.”

Benton again rallied in the third set coming back from deficits of 8–3 and 15–13, using a seven-point to seize control with a 20–15 lead.

“Benton is very solid and has many weapons, but our girls responded very well in most cases,” said Walsh. “I felt we have missed plays at key points later in games and when we fix that, we will add a competitive twist we have not shown yet.”

Potosi returned to action Tuesday at Highland and will now host River Ridge (6–1–1, 3–0 SRW) Thursday night.

Belmont 3, Potosi 0
(from Tuesday, Sept. 6 @ Belmont)
Potosi            23    20    28
Belmont        25    25     30
Potosi stat leaders
Kills: Abby Kaiser 18, Taylar Pluemer 2, Kalynn Vosberg 2. Blocks: Grace Morgan 3, Sophie Langkamp 2. Assists: Hannah Udelhoven 25, Kate Nusbaum 16. Aces: Udelhoven 11, Kate Nusbaum 10. Digs: Brooke McKillip 22, Kaiser 10, Udelhoven 8

Benton 3, Potosi 0
(from Thursday, Sept. 8 @ Benton)
Benton          21    15    20
Potosi            25    25    25
Potosi stat leaders
Kills: Abby Kaiser 23. Blocks: Sophie Langkamp 3, Grace Morgan 2. Assists: Hannah Udelhoven 20. Aces: n/a. Digs: Brooke McKillip 20, Ally Siegert 14.

Lancaster Invitational
(from Saturday, Sept. 10 @ Lancaster)
Team records: Potosi 4–1, Viroqua 3–2, Black Hawk 3–2, Lancaster 2–2, Kickapoo 2–3, Lancaster reserve 0–4.
Potosi match scores
Potosi def. Lancaster reserve 25–17, 25–22
Black Hawk def. Potosi 25–23, 27–25
Potosi def. Kickapoo 25–18, 21–25, 15–8
Potosi def. Lancaster 25–13, 25–23
Potosi def. Viroqua 26–24, 23–25, 17–15
Potosi stat leaders
Kills: Abby Kaiser 74, Grace Morgan 18, Sophie Langkamp 16, Kalynn Vosberg 13. Blocks: Langkamp 9, Morgan 7, Kaiser 5. Assists: Hannah Udelhoven 89, Kate Nusbaum 39, Langkamp 18. Aces: Vosberg 13, Nusbaum 9, Udelhoven 7. Digs: Brooke McKillip 101, Kaiser 51, Nusbaum 26, Ally Siegert 25, Vosberg 21.
Belmont's Kaleen McGettigan notches career win No. 200
Braves blowout Potosi/Cassville in coach's milestone victory
Kaleen McGettigan 200
Belmont girls head coach Kaleen McGettigan earned her 200th career win last Tuesday night with a 56–25 win over Potosi/Cassville.
Casey Lindecrantz
Published: Dec 13, 2024, 7:23 PM

POTOSI — Belmont girls basketball coach Kaleen McGettigan collected her 200th career win last Tuesday night with a 56–25 victory over Potosi/Cassville.

The Braves shot out to and maintained an early lead in Six Rivers West win over the host Chieftains (3–2, 0–2 SRW).

Potosi/Cassville claimed the opening point on a free throw, but a basket under the hoop by Morgan Freeman earned the only lead change of the night. The result was a Braves lead where the traveling team earned nearly 30 points before Potosi/Cassville tasted double figures.

“Any time we play a conference team, we know it is going to be a battle,” McGettigan said. “The Chieftains lost one of their starters the night before, but credit tot he team and their staff, they came out ready to play. Coach Nebel has done a nice job in her first month as a head coach.”

The Braves clung to a 37–16 lead at the break, nurturing it as they pushed to double Potosi/Cassville’s output over the final 18 minutes.

“I was pleased with the girls’ offensive attacks,” McGettigan said. “We are a tough team to guard because we are so interchangeable, and we need to take more advantage of that.”

The Belmont front was led by a three-headed monster of Lexi Riechers (18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals), Freeman (14 pts, 6 reb), and Kaci Riechers (12 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl). 

Carsyn Ramaker also took on an supporting role — her six rebounds and five assists were each tied for the team high.

“Lexi Riechers was a spark for us, and she got a couple things going on both ends of the floor,” McGettigan said. “Carsyn continues to see the floor well, and Hailey Bahr played the best game of her career.”

With just three opponents left ahead of the new year, the Braves’ next opportunity on the court comes at Benton on Dec. 12.

Junior Lillie Cooley scored a team-high five points in the loss for Potosi/Cassville (3–2, 0–2) which suffered its first loss.

Despite the win, McGettigan believes her team needs improvements in a few areas.

“We need to do a better job of consistently finishing around the rim,” she said. “We also need to be more comfortable  in our half-court sets.”

The Zephyrs (0–6, 0–2) most recently lost to Stockton (Ill.) on Dec. 9, 68–18, and haven’t scored more than 20 points in each of their last three games.

“We need to continue working on limiting other teams’ offensive boards, and getting to our outlet spots,” McGettigan said. “December is a slow month for us, so we need to stay focused in the gym and need to get better.”

Belmont 56, Potosi/Cassville 25
(from Tuesday, Dec. 3 @ Potosi)
Belmont 37 19 — 56
Potosi/Cassville 16 9 — 25
Belmont (2–1, 1–0) — Hailey Bahr 2, Courtney Fritz 5, Kaci Riechers 12, Morgan Freeman 14, Jaelyn Leitzinger 2, Lexi Riechers 18, Brittany Taylor 3. Totals — 25-71 2-7 56.  
Potosi/Cassville (3–1, 0–1) — Matty Udelhofen 4, Madi Weber 2, Lillie Cooley 5, Brielle Fishnick 4, Ruby Roe 3, Miranda Kieler 4, Delany McKillip 3. Totals — 8-43 8-11 25. 
3-pointers — B: 4-19 (Fritz 1, K. Riechers 2, L. Riechers 1); PC: 1-11 (Roe 1). Team fouls — B: 14; PC: 14. Foul out — none.