by Joe Howell

The Broncos of Lisbon bounced back from a disappointing opening match loss to Langdon to win the consolation championship at the State B volleyball tournament.

Lisbon was leading Langdon 24-23 in game two and had won the first game, only to see the eventual state champions rally to defeat the Broncos, not only in game two, but in games three and four as well.

Langdon and Lisbon came into the state tournament riding 10- and 12-match winning streaks.  The Broncos picked a bad time to serve and pass poorly as the Cardinals pounced on every Lisbon error in the last three games.

Langdon went onto to defeat Litchville-Marion-Montpelier 3-1 in the semifinals and would outlast Dickinson Trinity 3-2 in the finals.

Trinity had upset defending state champion and unbeaten Kenmare in the semifinals.

Bronco Coach Amy Lyons said goodbye to eight Lisbon seniors after their winning fifth-place match over Center-Stanton.  Veronica Munkeby, Taryn Wagner, Ashley Berg, Taylor Wagner, Courtney Bischof, Tracie Heacox, Karli Freeberg, and Jessica Rotenberger ended their careers in style with their third straight appearance in the state tournament.  These eight have been the backbone on the Broncos very successful three-year run at the district, region, and state levels.

Munkeby was selected not only to the all-tournament squad but to the All State team as well.  This was the second straight year that Munkeby made the all state team, the first Bronco ever to do so in volleyball.

The UND-bound Munkeby finished her stellar career with some remarkable statistics:  1,419 career kills*, 417 digs, 214 aces, and 283 blocks*.  *Indicates a Lisbon school record.

“Serving was once again the key to our weekend failures and success,” was a comment made by Coach Lyons after the tournament.  “We struggled the entire Langdon match with where we wanted our serve, and as a result we had trouble setting our block up.  It is a domino effect, as a poor serve puts us on the defense instead on attacking at the net like we want to.” 

1 2 3 4 Lisbon 25 24 22 17

Langdon 22 26 25 25

Bronco stats

Kills – Kali Olson 15, Veronica Munkeby 12, Taylor Wagner 2, Taryn Wagner 2, Jess Rotenberger 1, Michele Hoistad 1, and Karli Freeberg 1

Assists – Susie Lyons 22

Aces – Veronica Munkeby 4, Taryn Wagner 3, Kayla Rotenberger 1, Karli Freeberg 1, and Susie Lyons 1

Digs – Ashley Berg 23, Veronica Munkeby 15, Taylor Wagner 10, Susie Lyons 5, Taryn Wagner 3, Karli Freeberg 3, Jess Rotenberger 2, Michele Hoistad 1, Kali Olson 1.

Blocks – Jess Rotenberger 1 and Kali Olson 1

Broncos vs. Stanley Blue Jays

Veronica Munkeby’s kill ended game one with Lisbon on top in overtime 26-24.  The Stanley Blue Jays never recovered and Lisbon got on an impressive roll and outscored Stanley 50-25 in the next two games.  

Actually, after losing to Langdon, the Broncos easily swept their next two opponents 6-0.

“I was very pleased with the amount of energy that we played with today against Stanley,” said Bronco Coach Amy Lyons after Lisbon’s win over the Blue Jays.

Munkeby led both teams in kills with 17, and also had three blocks.  

Taylor Wagner scored with three aces, one of which gave LHS a 25-24 lead in game one.

In game two, the Broncos’ front line of Munkeby and Kali Olson was too much for Stanley to overcome.  Olson recorded two blocks and nine kills during the match.  “Olson really responded when we needed her in games two and three, and Stanley had no answer for our attacking offense,” commented Lyons.

Indeed, others in attendance noticed the improved hitting of Michele Hoistad and an attacking Taryn Wagner.  

Senior Jess Rotenberger impressed the college coaches in attendance.  Rotenberger was a little-used weapon until the Broncos kicked off their October schedule, and she became an impressive force with her 6’ 1” frame and long wing span.  Rotenberger picked up several coach’s business cards inviting her to play for their schools next fall.

1 2 3

Lisbon 26 25 25

Stanley 24 11 14

Bronco stats

Kills - Veronica Munkeby 16, Kali Olson 9, Taryn Wagner 4, Michele Hoistad 3, Susie Lyons 2, Jess Rotenberger 1, Kayla Rotenberger 1

Assists – Susie Lyons 23, Taylor Wagner 1

Aces – Taylor Wagner 2, Susie Lyons 2, Taryn Wagner 1, Veronica Munkeby 1, Kayla Rotenberger 1

Digs – Ashley Berg 10, Susie Lyons 6, Taylor Wagner 5, Veronica Munkeby 4, Karli Freeberg 4, Taryn Wagner 2, Jess Rotenberger 1, Kayla Rotenberger 1, and Michele Hoistad 1

Blocks – Veronica Munkeby 3, Kali Olson 3, and Michele Hoistad 1

Broncos vs. Center-Stanton Wildcats

The Broncos continued their impressive play in their last match of the season.  Lisbon’s serves put the Wildcats on their heels, and the Bronco’s frontline had their way at the net.  With their win, this year’s Broncos matched their record at last year’s state tournament with a tourney record of 2-1.  In both years, Lisbon lost to the state champion.  This year in the first round to Langdon, and a year ago in the state championship match to Kenmare.

In games one and two against CS, Lisbon jumped out to early leads and coasted home with 25-11 and 25-17 wins.  Coach Lyons commented, “Ashley Berg was all over the place today.  She really showed what kind of an athlete she is in helping our defense.  Olson had a good match from the outside and had a ton of kills from there.  We played strong at the net, passed well, and our serve receive was very good.”

Susie Lyons sparked the Bronco offense with her 32 assists.

Berg commented on her team’s play during the tournament.  “I thought we played together as a team and we were all having fun, which was the biggest part.  We were sad that we did not get into the championship bracket but were very happy with the way in which we dominated the consolation bracket.

One of the Wagner twins, Taryn, commented, “there are a lot other teams that would be happy to earn the fifth-place trophy at state.”

“I was very proud of the girls in how they bounced back from a very disappointing loss to Langdon, and we were phenomenal in our match with Center-Stanton,” commented Lyons after Lisbon’s last match of the year.

Lisbon finished with an overall record of 37-9.

1 2 3

Lisbon 25 25 25

Center-Stanton 11 17 18

Bronco stats

Kills – Kali Olson 15, Veronica Munkeby 16, Taryn Wagner 5, Susie Lyons 2, Michele Hoistad 2, Jess Rotenberger 1

Assists – Susie Lyons 32, Michele Hoistad 1

Aces – Veronica Munkeby 5, Kayla Rotenberger 4, Karli Freeberg 2, Taylor Wagner 1

Digs – Ashley Berg 13, Veronica Munkeby 6, Taylor Wagner 4, Karli Freeberg 5, Michele Hoistad 2, Susie Lyons 2, Kayla Rotenberger 1, Taryn Wagner 1

Blocks – Kali Olson 3, and Michele Hoistad 1

Net notes

*Susie Lyons had 1,030 assists for the season.

*Munkeby and Olson combined for 952 kills.

*Lisbon’s ace leaders were:  Kayla Rotenberger – 98, Veronica Munkeby – 92 and Taryn Wagner – 92.

*Ashley Berg had 449 digs on the season.

All State Team

Veronica Munkeby, Lisbon; Ashley Doeden, Hillsboro; Nicki Schumacher, Thompson; Courtney Becker, Langdon; Breanna Messer, Dickinson Trinity; Brianna Beecher, Hazen; Allison Opp, Hazen; Brittany Olson, Northern Cass; Kayla Nelson, Central Cass; Lindsey Sand, Kidder County; Kali Lueck, Fairmount-Campbell-Tintah; Abbey Aide, Bottineau; Keri Nelson, Kenmare; Stephanie Barnhart, Kenmare; A.J. Liesener, Ray; and Connie Miller, Center-Stanton.

Senior of the Year – Keri Nelson,  Kenmare

Coach of the Year – Lisa Strand of Thompson

All Tournament 

Veronica Munkeby, Lisbon; Nicki Schumacher, Thompson; Carly VanBruggen, LMM; Jenny Erhardt, Center-Stanton; Katie King and Macie Harris, Kenmare; Sheyenne Plummer, Breanna Messer, and Shannon Ernst, Dickinson Trinity; McKenzie Hart, Courtney Becker, and Ashley Hall of Langdon.

Class A

Senior Player of the Year – Jessie Gust of West Fargo

Coach of the Year – Carolyn Olson of Grand Forks Red River

This story is complimentary to you by the writing staff of your Ransom County Gazette.  To receive more stories and photos, subscribe today by calling 1-866-702-9032.