by Joe Howell

 

History was made by this year’s Lisbon Bronco volleyball team at Central Cass.  The Broncos won their first ever “Volley in the Valley Tournament”.  Lisbon edged the Squirrels of Central Cass in game one of their championship match in an exhausting overtime set of 31-29.  The Broncos also won the second game to clinch their first ever CC tournament and also their first tournament championship of this year.

On Thursday, Sept. 11, Lisbon opened District 1 regular season play, and the Broncos dumped FCT 3-1 in a match played in the Bronco gym.

Kali Olson had a fantastic night as she led Lisbon in kills with 15.  As in with most team sports, often the little things are overlooked by the fans.  Coach Amy Lyons employed a double block on FCT’s best hitter, Kali Lueck, and the results were very beneficial to the Bronco defense.  Taryn Wagner and Veronica Munkeby were the primary block team against Lueck.

Veronica Munkeby and Ashley Berg added 11 and 10 kills for the Broncos against FCT.  

Susie Lyons recorded 38 assists and Berg and Taryn Wagner had 16 and 10 digs.

Munkeby led the Broncos in service aces with 13.

Bronco Coach Amy Lyons reflected on the District 1 regular season after the match.  “FCT, Oakes, Hankinson, Wyndmere, Lidgerwood, and Lisbon will be competing for the top seeds not only going into the district tournament but for the top four regional qualifying positions coming out of the District 1 tournament that will be played in Hankinson in October.”

“Every district match counts for us and we will need to come up big if we want to earn the number-one seed for the tournament.”

Lyons also commented on the four tournaments that Lisbon will compete in during the regular season and how she and her squad use tournament play to measure the progress of the Broncos.

“Each tournament we play in is a learning experience.  Obviously it was great to win our first ever Central Cass tournament, but this tournament usually is the one where we learn the most about the make-up of our team.”

“The Optimist and the Lisbon–Enderlin tournament give us an idea of how we rank with the competition in the southeast part of the state.  It also gives us an opportunity to scout our opponents for the upcoming district and regional tournaments.”

“The DLB tourney is one to see how we rank at the state level.  It shows us where we need to tweak our offensive and defensive sets against the better hitting teams.”

1 2 3 4

Lisbon 25 23 25 25

FCT 16 25 15 18

Lisbon also won the JV and C matches against FCT.

On Saturday, Sept. 13, the Broncos entered three JV teams in the Enderlin JV tourney that was held in Lisbon because of floor repairs to one of Enderlin’s facilities.

The Broncos red team won the tournament.

The C team of Lisbon finished in third place in the Enderlin C tournament held in Lisbon on September 13.

Bronco stats against FCT

Kills –  Kali Olson 15, Veronica Munkeby 11, Ashley Berg 10, Michele Hoistad 4, Susie Lyons 4, Taryn Wagner 3

Sets – Susie Lyons 38, Michele Hoistad 1

Aces – Veronica Munkeby 13, Susie Lyons 2, Tracie Heacox 3, Taryn Wagner 1, Kali Olson 4, Karli Freeberg 1

Digs – Ashley Berg 16, Taryn Wagner 10, Susie Lyons 8, Kayla Rotenberger 7, Veronica Munkeby 6, Karli Freeberg 4, Michele Hoistad 2, Tracie Heacox 1

The top two teams from each pool qualify for championship tournament play at the Central Cass tournament.  The Broncos were edged out for first place in their pool play by Hillsboro.  Lisbon lost 25-22 and 25-21 to the Burros in their pool but would match up with Hillsboro later in tournament play.

The Broncos definitely played teams from the different quadrants in the state – DLB from the northwest, Hillsboro from the northeast, PBK from the central, and Oakes and Central Cass from the southeast.

The southeast or Region 1 may be the toughest region in the state this year.  Northern Cass won their own tournament beating 10 defending Region 4 champion, Langdon, in the championship match.

In pool play, the Broncos breezed to wins over Des Lacs Burlington  (25-20 & 25-16), over Pingree Buchanan Kensal (25-17 & 25-13), and Hettinger (25-17 & 25-16).  Lisbon placed second in this pool with their narrow loss to Hillsboro.

Munkeby Berg, and Olson combined for 22 of Lisbon’s 30 kills in their win over DLB.

Against PBK, nine different attackers recorded kills, and Taryn Wagner and Munkeby led LHS in aces with 4.

The Burros squeezed by Lisbon in pool play twice, winning by scores of 25-22 and 25-21.

Lisbon recorded 22 kills with Olson leading the way with 6.  Munkeby and Taryn Wagner put away 5 and 4 service attacks.

The Burros, however, limited Lisbon to just four service aces with their fine defensive play.

Ashley Berg and Karli Freeberg led Lisbon’s defensive effort with 15 and 10 digs.

Lisbon and Hillsboro both advanced to championship tournament play and would meet each other in the semifinals.

In the opening round of the tournament play, the Broncos met longtime rival, Oakes.  The Broncos edged OHS in the first match 25–23, lost in game two 25-22, and regrouped to win game three 15-11.

Stats

Kills – Munkeby 9, Berg 5, Lyons 5, Olson 5, Hoistad 2, and Kayla Rotenberger 1

Sets – Lyons 17 and Hoistad 1

Aces – team -Rotenberger 4, Tracie Heacox 2, Taryn Wagner 2, Lyons 1, Freeberg 1, and Munkeby 1

Digs – Munkeby 8, Lyons 7, Berg 5, Taryn Wagner 3, Freeberg 2, Hoistad 1, Heacox 1

Revenge is best served cold!  Lisbon blitzed Hillsboro in the semifinals by a score of 25-13 but HHS bounced back to win game two in overtime 27-25.

The Broncos showed their toughness and resolve with an emotional 15-13 win over the Burros to advance to the championship of the Central Cass tournament for the first time in school history.

Veronica Munkeby put on a terrific display of hitting with 17 kills in Lisbon’s win over Hillsboro.

Kills – Munkeby 17, Olson 6, Berg 4, Taryn Wagner 4, Hoistad 2, Lyons 1, Freeberg 1

Assists – Lyons 29

Aces – Taryn Wagner 4, Kayla Rotenberger 2, Munkeby 1, Freeberg 1

Digs – Taryn Wagner 10, Freeberg 8, Rotenberger 6, Berg 5, Wagner 5, Lyons 4, Munkeby 4

Despite winning back to back Region 1 volleyball titles the last two years, the win for Lisbon in the championship match at Casselton was the first ever regular season tournament win for the Broncos under Coach Amy Lyons.

The Broncos had two juniors step up big with their defensive play at the net.  Michele Hoistad and Kali Olson each blocked four attacks by Central Cass and as a team, Lisbon recorded 26 digs.

Coach Amy Lyons commented on her team’s performance at Central Cass.  “We wanted to win our pool, but Hillsboro blocked very well against us and we did not adjust.  Looking back, the loss to the Burros was probably good for us and we were focused entering tournament play.”

“We were trailing in game 1 of the championship match 24-21 before we fought back.  One of the biggest reasons that we won this tournament is that we wanted to win more than any other team at the tournament.”

“Not only were we down 24-21 but I was down to two subs, but we NEVER gave up, and we stepped up and won 31-29 in overtime.”  Games are played to 25.

“Central Cass hung their heads just a little bit and we got ahead in game two and won 25-19.  The Squirrels have a very nice team and they played a great tournament.”

“Our bench makes us a very strong team.  We have such good players to play against in practice that we get better and are more prepared for our matches.  Jess Rotenberger, Courtney Bischof, Taylor Wagner, Tracie Heacox, Nicole McRitchie, combined with Kayla Rotenberger and Karli Freeberg make for a very competitive team.  Not only are these girls competitive in practice but they have displayed a great team attitude as well.”

Stats

Kills – Munkeby 9, Olson 5, Berg 4, Taryn Wagner 3, Lyons 2, Hoistad 2

Assists – Lyons 18, Munkeby 1

Aces – Taryn Wagner 3, Freeberg 2, Kayla Rotenberger 2, Munkeby 1, Tracie Heacox 1

Digs – Taryn Wagner 5, Ashley Berg 4, Lyons 4, Freeberg 4, Rotenberger 4, Munkeby 4, Heacox 1

Blocks – Hoistad 4 and Olson 4