The last day of September ended up being – a lot – for the Mount Vernon volleyball team.
Homecoming week, Senior Night, and a key conference showdown as they try to keep pace in the race for a WaMaC East crown.
“I think for us, after we graduated the starters and contributors we did, for us to be going into the last week with a chance to win the WaMaC East title is awfully incredible, if I’m being honest,” Mount Vernon coach Maggie Willems said. “These kids have really continued to improve since we came into the gym in August.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 30, the Mustangs swept those other Mustangs from Independence, 25-16, 25-20, 25-13.
“We were expecting an easier game, but had to come up strong,” senior Madison Boren said. “We had to play connected and confident, otherwise, we would not have made it through the game as fast as we did.”
The two teams came in with similar overall records, but Mount Vernon spends its weekends often playing highly-ranked teams at powerhouse tournaments.
“Those ranked teams definitely show us things we need to work on,” Boren said.
Mount Vernon (13-10, 3-1) built a big lead in the first and second sets. Independence (13-13, 0-4) used four time out to try and slow down the Mount Vernon momentum.
It was 17-9 in the second set before Independence put together a 4-0 run that forced Willems to use her only time out of the match.
“For me, a time out is about resetting our attention,” Willems said. “We’re a really solid team when we can maintain our focus. My job is to reset it when we’re not getting that done.”
Mount Vernon stretched its lead back to seven points, 22-15, behind two kills from Cali Whitaker and one each by Hayden Gookin and Madison Hoffert.
In the third set, Mount Vernon got out to a 17-7 lead and cruised to the sweep. Willems was able to play some extra seniors on Senior Night.
“We got to see a lot of new faces on the court tonight, which was really fun,” Boren said.
Meester led the team with 13 kills, followed by Whitaker and Gookin with six each, and Hoffert with five kills and 29 assists. Junior libero Mavrik Schweer led with 15 digs, and senior Isabelle Logue added 10 digs.
A lot accomplished, including a salute to the seniors – Carly Elliott, Whitaker, Boren, Logue, Emma Hoffman and Lilly Cook.
“It is a lot to juggle,” Willems said. “Kids are surprised by their own feelings on Senior Night. Coaches are certainly juggling a lot of things behind the scenes. It is important to keep the match at the top of the list.”
No. 8 Mount Vernon (16-11) then challenged itself on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Bobcat Invitational at Western Dubuque High School. They beat Dubuque Senior 10-21, 21-15, 15-10 and West Liberty 21-9, 21-12 before falling to No. 14 (4A) Western Dubuque 25-18, 25-21. They finished the day with a win over No. 9 (2A) Wapsie Valley 25-20, 25-19.