Komets Come Out On Top of #1 vs. #2 - Match Highlights and Top Performances

The setting, couldn’t have been drawn up any better with #1 Stewartville and #2 Kasson-Mantorville, two of the top teams in Class AA just miles apart, conference rivals, and all too familiar with each other. As far as the volleyball there was a little bit of a nervous energy to start the game. Both sides were well prepared, in the right spot, knowing each others hitter tendencies, and defenses beating the ball. Stewartville was playing a rotational defense where they had their middle back ready in the corner for a set to go-to outside hitter Peyton Suess, the Wake Forest commit, from Kasson-Mantorville. For K-M, their outsides were right there for tip coverage behind the block when Stewartville would go to their elite outside, Kaitlyn Prondzinksi. With two teams who know each other this well it comes down to basics, and a matter of which role players step up which was heavily in favor of the Komets. Kasson-Mantorville was on point in their serve receive game and with aggressive and strategic serving, had the Tigers on a scramble most of the night. With blockers keying heavily on Peyton Suess on the outside, there were huge swings made by Senior middle blocker McKenzie Evans and Junior middle blocker/right side Emily Terry. Here is a closer look at some of the top players in the gym on Tuesday night in Kasson. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> Just love being a part of this. Great volleyball, great crowd. Just watch! <a href="https://x.com/KoMetVolleyball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KoMetVolleyball</a> <a href="https://t.co/0nqXzRb3oA">pic.x.com/0nqXzRb3oA</a> — Chris Fitzgerald (@PrepDigChris) <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigChris/status/1052367320990015488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Peyton Suess - Kasson-Mantorville - Senior - Outside Hitter Committed To Wake Forest Big hitters are going to get their swings, they’ll score points, but what really stood out for Suess was her defense in middle back. The Tigers served at her all night and she was passing 2’s and 3’s to the setter consistently (a 3 is considered a perfect pass where the setter has three options to go to). There was a sequence of plays in set two where Suess dove for a ball to save it off a block that was nearly in the crowd, scrambled back to her base position in middle back, had a solid first contact which was eventually finished by a block coming from her Sophomore sister Mya. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <a href="https://x.com/peytonsuess?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@peytonsuess</a> diving, digging, extending the play in middle back while her sister Mya gets the kill! <a href="https://x.com/KoMetVolleyball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KoMetVolleyball</a> <a href="https://t.co/jdl77gdXqJ">pic.x.com/jdl77gdXqJ</a> — Prep Dig Minnesota (@PrepDigMN) <a href="https://x.com/PrepDigMN/status/1052379584430247936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> Bailey Berge - Kasson-Mantorville - Senior - Libero Berge is an uncommitted Senior who is such an X-Factor for the Komets. From her hustle plays to the consistent passing, and body language on the court - she is the type of player for what it takes to for your team to reach the next level. Multiple times she was there for the first contact or kept a rally alive by her second contact. When Berge is behind the service line there always seems to be a string of points, same with defensive specialist Cate Wanous who could be the next best defender in line only being a Freshman. Kaitlyn Prondzinksi - Stewartville - Junior - Outside Hitter Committed To Illinois State Stewartville has a team full of dynamic athletes. I know there are times where you might look at a team and just say, “Oh they look like a volleyball team.” However, with Stewartville they do look like a volleyball team, but they look like they could be on any court or field and probably be very successful. Prondzinkski can fly and is so physical on her attack. A six rotation outside that can attack and hit any spot on the court she really makes it tough for the defense to read what her next move is. Prondzinksi is heading to Illinois State who is surging in the Missouri Valley Conference. Solid pick up by the Redbirds. Erin Lamb - Stewartville - Sophomore - Middle Blocker It doesn’t take long to see that Lamb is one of the top athletes in the gym, and she is only a Sophomore. At 6’2, the six rotation middle - wait, what? Yes, a six rotation middle blocker can do it all. A quick jumper, who can move laterally extremely well from pin to pin is a future Division 1 athlete. The follow up question would be what sport? The standout in basketball as well has options with coaches in both sports pursuing her. Could she pull double duty at the next level? With her athleticism, I wouldn’t be surprised. Emily Terry - Kasson-Mantorville - Junior - Middle Blocker/Pin Terry can do a little bit of everything for the Komets at multiple positions. What I was impressed with most was her attack angles on her approach. When she was in the front row, Stewartville was keying on her, but she would vary her approaches allowing her to hit around the block or go for a swing off the block scoring big points in really crucial situations. The X-Factor Mckenzie Evans - Kasson-Mantorville - Senior - Middle Blocker 5’9 is by no means tall for a middle blocker, but with how the game has evolved teams just need a middle blocker who is quick and get to the right spot. For Kasson-Mantorville, with plenty of power coming on the outsides, middle blockers just need to keep the defense honest. With the nervous energy to start the game, Evans had a kill in the middle that seemed to break the tension and open up the flood gates for the Komets. With Stewartville committing heavily to Suess on the outside, setter Maddie Converse (who is only a Freshman) set Evans out of the middle for a monster kill. This got the crowd going, the team going, and totally relaxed their team and put the pressure heavily on Stewartville. The timing of that kill was all it took to set the tone the rest of the night.