by Kent Harshbarger

Bullettes fall in first round

by Kent Harshbarger

The Mediapolis Bullettes fell to top ranked Rock Valley in four games in the first round of the 1A girls' state volleyball tournament at the U.S. Cellular Center on November 14. Mepo dropped the first game 15-12, won the second contest 15-10, lost game three 15-6 and were eliminated when they dropped a 16-14 decision in game four.

Other than in game two, the Bullettes spent most of the day trying to catch up. They came close on several occasions, but could not quite get over the hump against the tall and athletic Rockets. "In the second game, we didn't make the mistakes that we had in the other games. We didn't give up the four and five point runs. In the other games, we had our backs against the wall. Give the kids credit. They fought back nearly every time.

In the first game, the two teams were knotted at 3-3 when the Rockets went on a seven point run. Two kills each by freshman Shayla Lange and senior all state setter Erica Schlotfeldt and an ace by junior Krystal Den Boer fueled the run.

Jo Kester's first kill ended the run at 10-3 and Mepo started a comeback. Ashlei Jandrey served an ace, the Rockets were called for being in the net, Kester got another kill and Krista Wirt and Kester combined for a block to pull the Bullettes to within three at 10-7. Mepo climbed even closer on two more Rock Valley net violations at 10-9.

Kills by Karin and Deb Remmerde bumped the lead to 12-9. Another kill by Kester pulled Mepo to within 12-10, but the Rockets scored on a kill by Deb Remmerde and another ace by Den Boer. Facing game point, Ashlee Baker got a kill and the Rockets were called for four hits to pull Mepo within two at 14-12. After a side out, Molly Gort recorded the Rockets third ace of the game to end the contest at 15-12.

Game two was close early and was tied four times, with the last time being at 4-4. Brenna Nelson hammered home a kill after a Sarah Schulte ace to give Mepo a 5-4 lead. Schulte served five more points, aided by kills by Margaret Kuenzler and Nelson to forge a 10-4 lead.
A pair of kills by Amber De Weerd and an ace by Den Boer trimmed the Mepo advantage to 10-7. The Rockets' run ended when Den Boer served into the net.

Ashlee Baker and Nelson then followed a Laura Spanhut serve with a block for an 11-7 advantage. After two side outs, Kester notched another kill after Meta Kramer's serve to move the lead to 12-7. A kill by Deb Remmerde earned the side out and she and Schlotfeldt followed with kills to pull the Rockets to within 12-9.

Jandrey served a point before yet another ace for the Rockets, this time by Schlotfeldt, made it 13-10. After a series of side outs, Kuenzler's kill and an ace by Kester gave the Bullettes their first win at 15-10 and evened the match at one game each.

Mepo grabbed a 2-0 lead in game three on a Jandrey serve and a kill by Kester, but then saw the Rockets reel off six straight points as the Bullettes seemed to lose their focus and committed several errors on their side of the net. However, again they rebounded. A net call and a kill and a block by Nelson cut the Rock Valley lead to 6-5.

A kill by De Weerd, two by Gort and an another ace by Den Boer quickly boosted the Rockets lead back to 10-5. Schlotfeldt's ace boosted that lead to 11-5. Two kills by Kester earned a side out and a point for the Bullettes, but that was the end of their scoring. With Deb Remmerde, Gort and Lange each registering a kill and De Weerd two, Rock Valley cruised to the 15-6 win and a two games to one lead.

Game four looked to be more of the same as the Rockets went ahead 3-0 and eventually 11-3. Trailing 14-5 and facing elimination, the Bullettes showed the resolve that had made them the sixth ranked team in the state. Baker served three straight points, two coming on Rockets' mistakes and one on a kill by Baker herself.

Rock Valley earned a side out on a kill by Lange, but the Bullettes continued to fight off match points. Jandrey hammered a kill to the floor following a Schulte serve to cut the Mepo deficit to 14-9 and forcing the Rockets to call their second time out during the run. It did not help. Kuenzler notched a kill and when the Rockets returned Schulte's next serve long, Mepo was within 14-11.
Rock Valley earned the side out, but the gritty Mepo women got the serve back on a kill by Nelson. A kill by Jandrey pulled Mepo within 14-12. The Bullettes found additional life following a side out when Deb Remmerde's spike was long by an eye lash. After they fought off their sixth match point, Kester followed a Jandrey serve to trim the lead to just one at 14-13. After avoiding yet another match point, Baker's ace finally knotted the score at 14-14 and sent the large Mediapolis contingent in the crowd into a frenzy.

With both teams out of substitutions, the two teams traded side outs, before junior Kristen Boeve served the leading point with the help of block by Gort. Mepo took a time out, but could not avoid their eighth match point. Boeve's serve was returned, but Schlotfeldt set up Karin Remmerde and her spike found the middle of the floor and ended the Bullettes' last comeback and their season.

Coach Jandrey was impressed with the effort of his team yet again. "There is no doubt that the kids thought they could come back and win. If you asked them in a few minutes, they would tell you they could go back out there and win it," Jandrey said.

The coach admitted his team had little margin for error against the taller Rockets. "We are not going to beat teams with our height. In that last run our passing was phenomenal. We had to run high risk stuff and be perfect. How many match points did we fight off?," an exhausted Jandrey asked following the game.

The Mepo head coach was impressed with the Rockets, especially in the final two games. "Things changed in game three. Suddenly they didn't let anything hit the floor. It wasn't that they blocked us. They just got one hand here and one there and got it back up and over. They have great athletes. (Deb) Remmerde just signed to play basketball at Iowa. That shows you the quality of athletes they have," he said.

Rock Valley head coach Sue Kooima was equally impressed with the Mepo players. "They were defensing everything we threw at them. They are athletic and cover the court well. They are a good team. That match was good for us," Kooima said.

Statistically, Kester led all players on the floor. The Mepo senior middle hitter recorded a match high 23 kills. She also led in digs with 24 and served a perfect 14 of 14 with a pair of aces and had four assists and a pair of blocks. While saddened by the loss, Kester felt her good about the effort. "I think we played as hard as we could. I think we proved we can play with anyone. It's been a great season," she said.

Mepo's other middle hitter, Nelson, also stepped up in her final match. She notched 12 kills and four blocks. "Brenna played very well. We've changed things up to give her more swings. She had one of her better matches today," coach Jandrey said.

Ashlei Jandrey also posted good numbers. She had 47 assists, five kills and three aces. Baker served 17 of 18 with three aces, two blocks, five kills and 18 digs. Kuenzler had 17 digs and seven kills. Schulte served 22 of 23 with an ace.

As a team, the Bullettes served 94 of 101 (93%) with eight aces. The Bullettes entered the game as the most efficient serving team in the 1A field at (94%).

Rock Valley led the field in aces per game with an average of four. While they were held under that average in this match with a total of 11 in the four games, there serving did hurt. "They served more down the line than we had seen. There is a reason they lead the state in aces," coach Jandrey said.

Balance was also a key for the Rockets. Deb Remmerde led in kills with 17, but six different players recorded kills in the contest. Gort had 10, Lange eight, Schlotfeldt seven and De Weerd six. Schlotfeldt registered 46 assists and three aces. Den Boer had four aces and Gort three. Gort and Schlotfeldt also paced in blocks with four each and Schlotfeldt had a team high 24 digs. The Rockets served 103 of 114 (90%), but of course had the 11 aces.

The Bullettes bowed out at 31-5-5 in matches and at 82-18 in games. Rock Valley advanced to the semi-finals with a 34-1-2 match record and an 85-6 mark in games.

The game was the last one for Kester, Nelson, Baker, Jandrey, Kuenzler, Schulte, Krista Wirt, Laura Spanhut, Kay Spanhut and Andrea Lingenfelter as all are seniors. Baker summed up the season simply. "We had a good year. We had a lot fun and I think we played as well as we could today," she said.

Coach Jandrey echoed that sentiment. "It's been a great ride. It's been a great time. The kids have shown a lot of heart all season and they did again today - right to the end," Jandrey said.