BELMONT — Potosi exacted a measure of revenge and pulled into a tie for second-place with a hard-fought five-set victory at Belmont last Tuesday night.

     The Chieftains battled back from a 2–1 games deficit to avenge an earlier loss to the Braves with a 25–16, 20–25, 20–25, 25–21, 15–7 win.

     Potosi senior Taylor Kennedy had a moster double–double of 23 kills and 22 digs, while junior Maddie Hawes had a great all-around night with 13 kills and 39 digs. Senior Tayrn Stappert made 32 digs and junior Calie Gibson passed out a match-high 40 assists to direct the Chieftain offense.

     Belmont senior Jannie de Haan floored 21 kills and served three aces to lead the Braves. Fellow senior Keegan Kamps added 15 kills and two aces.

     “It was a pretty intense battle that night, we just couldn’t finish,” said Belmont head coach Lauren Runde. “Potosi played tough, especially that fifth set. We made too many mental errors at the end of the night, and took ourselves out of the game. Potosi is a good team and they did a nice job defensively.”

     Belmont jumped out to a 4–1 lead in the fifth set, but after a Potosi timeout the Chieftains scored four straight points on Hawes serves to take a 6–4 lead. The Chieftains took a 13–6 lead on three straight points on Kennedy’s serve.

     “We were really geared up against Belmont and knew it was important, especially after we got the second seed above them [in the regional],” said Potosi head coach Jolene Murray. “It also gave us a share for second place in conference. We got off to a quick start just like we had when we played Belmont the last time. Their good hitters seem to take a while to get going when we play them for some reason.

     “We also came up with some big digs in the back row in the final two games after we made an adjustment with our defense.”

Potosi 3, Belmont 2
(from Tuesday, Oct. 14 @ Belmont)
Potosi    25    20    20    25    15
Belmont    16    25    25    21    7
Potosi stat leaders
Kills: Taylor Kennedy 23, Maddie Hawes 13, Abby Kaiser 10. Blocks: Kennedy 3, Kaiser 2. Assists: Calie Gibson 40. Aces: Gibson 1, Kaiser 1, Taryn Stappert 1, Emily Langmeier 1. Digs: Maddie Hawes 39, Stappert 32, Emily Langmeier 25, Kennedy 22.
Belmont stat leaders
Kills: Jannie deHaan 21, Keegan Kamps 15. Blocks: Brianna Riechers 5, Alie Klein 4. Assists: Katelyn Schobert 33. Aces: deHaan 3, Kamps 2. Digs: Maddie Rand 28.

Potosi sweeps Cassville
          CASSVILLE — Potosi closed out the regular season Thursday with an easy 25–20, 25–13, 25–16 sweep of last place Cassville.

     Kennedy posted a double–double of 20 kills and 12 digs, as did Hawes with 12 kills and 18 digs. Stappert also made 18 digs. Gibson passed out 34 assists.

     Potosi finished the regular season 19–8 overall and 8–4 in the Six Rivers West.
The Chieftains opened the WIAA D4 regional playoffs Tuesday at home against seventh-seeded Shullsburg. With a win Potosi will host either No. 3 Argyle or No. 6 Barneveld on Thursday.

Potosi 3, Cassville 0
(from Thursday, Oct. 16 @ Cassville)
Potosi            25    25    25
Cassville            20    13    16
Potosi stat leaders
Kills: Taylor Kennedy 20, Maddie Hawes 12. Blocks: Abby Kaiser 2. Assists: Calie Gibson 34. Aces: Kennedy 3, Hawes 3, Kaiser 2, Taryn Stappert 2. Digs: Maddie Hawes 18, Stappert 18, Kennedy 12, Emily Langmeier 10.

Kamps leads Belmont sweeps of Shullsburg
          BELMONT — The Braves celebrated Senior Night and closed out the regular season with a 25–21, 25–23, 25–17 sweep of visiting Shullsburg on Thursday.

     Kamps posted 13 kills and 12 digs, while de Haan added 12 kills to lead the Belmont offense. Senior Katelyn Schobert passed out a match-high 28 assists. Sophomore Maddie Rand made 16 digs to lead the defense.

     “Our girls were fired up and ready to play that night,” said Runde. “We moved well defensively. Our passing was a little off to start, but by the end we were able to control the tempo of the game.”

     Belmont opened the WIAA Division 4 regional playoffs Tuesday at home against Benton. With a win the fourth-seeded Braves will face either top-seeded Southwestern or eighth-seeded Pecatonica on Thursday.

Belmont 3, Shullsburg 0
(from Thursday, Oct. 16 @ Belmont)
Shullsburg            21    23    17
Belmont            25    25    25
Belmont stat leaders
Kills: Keegan Kamps 13, Jannie deHaan 12. Blocks: Brianna Riechers 2, Klein 1. Assists: Katelyn Schobert 28. Aces: Kamps 4, Brook Knebel 3. Digs: Maddie Rand 16, Kamps 12.