MCC VOLLEYBALL ENDS THEIR SEASON AGAINST THE EAGLES

The MCC Rebel Volleyball team was the 6th seed in the Subsection 3A South playoffs. The Rebels were on the road on Friday night to Edgerton to take on the 3rd seeded Southwest Minnesota Christian Eagles. During the regular season the Eagles beat the Rebels in Edgerton 3-1 and the Rebels were looking to turn the tables on the Eagles when it mattered the most.

The first game was a battle back and forth. MCC got off to a 4-1 lead before the Eagles worked their way back into the game. The Rebels would pull away at one point leading 18 to 14. The Eagles were missing most of their shots wide of the court and MCC was getting too many Eagle shots to keep play alive. The Eagles tied the game up at 23-23 and would have match points 24-23, but the Eagles put a ball into the net to tie the game. The Rebels again stopped the Eagles from winning the set with a great place set into the back corner of the court. The Eagles finally took the first set 27 to 25 on an ace.

The second set was close, similar to the first, but the Rebels started off playing from behind, trailing by 3 and 4 points. The Rebels tied the game at 13-13 on the service game of Emmi Peltola. Avery Thovson gave the Rebels the lead 15-14 on an ace and then 16-14 when the Eagles hit the ball wide. Suttyn Schryvers got a kill to put the Rebels up 18-16. The Eagles soon tied the game, as MCC had a return error, followed by a hitting error, bringing the score to 18-18. The Eagles were the first team to reach 20 points, but the Rebels quickly tied it up, 21 to 21 on an ace. The Eagles tied the game and went ahead as the Rebels got out of position on a couple of defensive plays. The Eagles took advantage, taking the lead 24 to 21, and when Peyton Degreeff was blocked at the net, the Eagles took set two, 25 to 21.

Set 3 was very similar to the first two, closely contested, with both teams having chances to score. Each team would lead when around 20 points. The difference became that MCC would commit a costly mistake or two and the Eagles would get a sideout and score another point. If the Rebels got a sideout, often they would give the serve back after either putting the ball in the net or hitting it wide. The Eagles got the win 25 to 21 in a hard fought, three game sweep.

When playing against a team like SWC, who has a dominant hitter, blocking becomes very important to get a win. The more you do to frustrate the best player on the opposing team, the better chance you have to win, but the Rebels, as a team, combined for just 4 blocks. The Eagles had some struggles, especially early in the game with hitting the ball wide, but over the course of the game, the Eagles just got too many open shots. Emmi Peltola led the Rebels with 19 digs while Kate Blankenship added 12 and Thea Schneider recorded 10. Kelli Miller led the Rebels with 12 set assists and Avery Thovson added 9. Suttyn Schryvers led the Rebels with 9 kills while Kate Blankenship added 6 and Peyton DeGreeff chipped in with 5. With the loss, the Rebels seniors Emmi Peltola, Thea Schneider, Kelli Miller, and Elyse Paulzine finished their volleyball careers. They will be missed heading into next season, but the Rebels do have a young group of promising athletes, that with work, can help take the Rebels to the next level. MCC finished the season losing eight of their final nine games to end the year 10 and 13.