Cedar Grove-Belgium pair reaches volleyball career milestones

Cedar Grove-Belgium High School’s volleyball team couldn’t keep up with the Lady Dutch’s firepower in a regional semifinal at Oostburg last Thursday, but two of the Rockets had already reached their personal goals for the season.

Senior London Rulli logged her 500th career assist and senior Brooklyn Cherney registered her 500th career dig.

Both did it a few points apart in a win at Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah on Oct. 13.

“I’ve only been on varsity since junior year and I started freshman year as a middle. I feel like I accomplished a lot this season,” Rulli said.

She remembers the play.

“It was to my best friend — Lauren Lueth. All of these girls are my best friends. It was just really special,” she said.

Cherney also set 500 as a target.

“It was a big goal at the beginning of the season. I’m really glad I hit it. I couldn’t have done it without everybody else though,” she said.

She loved that her teammate reached her milestone in the same match.

“It was sentimental for both of us to hit it at the same time knowing we’ve been playing together for so long,” Cherney said.

Coach Cailey Jeske-Winker said Rulli has taken freshman setter Lauren Hopeman under her wing, and Cherney and senior Kylie Gulke became better players by competing for floor time as liberos.

“This team really made it the best experience ever. We just all brought each other up all the time and it was just the most positive place,” Gulke said.

Luteh, the fourth senior, is the leader.

“Lauren Lueth has been the absolute backbone of this team for four years. She’s our firepower, really,” Jeske-Winker said.

“We enjoy being around each other. That’s why it kind of makes it so hard. We’re all just like so close,” Lueth said of the season ending.

Senior Ava Peterson missed the season to a knee injury but will play in college.

The undersized Rockets (15-20) lost to Oostburg (24-6), 25-15, 25-17, 25-16, but they beat Valders at home on Oct. 22, 25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 25-17.

“They played really consistent and aggressive, which is what we ask of them,” Jeske-Winker said.

Lueth had 14 kills and Claire Lukens had 13. Gulke had 19 digs, Lukens had 18 and Cherney had 12. Rulli had 24 assists and Hopeman had 11.

Ozaukee loses at Lutheran

Ozaukee hosted Kohler and beat the Blue Bombers for the third time this season on Oct. 20, 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 25-21. Maddy Barnes had 17 kills and Adalyn Krenek had 14. Barnes had 19 digs, Trahern Bartels had 17, Becca Marini had 16, Krenek had 14 and Helen Utecht had 13. Utecht had 41 assists.

Ozaukee had middle hitter Leighton Schmitz back, and she and Kennedy Brown helped open attack lanes.

“Our middles aren’t going to show up so much in the stats, but they did a lot of the little things that made it easier for the rest of the team,” coach Ashley Barnes said. “They’re vocal and pulled the Kohler middle block with them to allow for one-on-one on the outside.”

The Warriors lost to another Big East Conference foe, Sheboygan Lutheran, last Thursday on the road, 25-10, 26-24, 25-12.

“We had a great game plan going into it. We knew we were going to have to stop their middles. I thought we did that well for the most part. Their right side hurt us,” Barns said. “We did not serve well.”

The Warriors missed eight of 50 serves (84%). They had been above 90% most of the season.

Maddy Barnes had eight kills. Schmitz, Krenek and Brown each had four. Marini had 12 digs. Barnes had nine and Utecht had eight. Utecht had 14 assists.

“Maddy did nice job – got blocked early and made some adjustments to find the floor,” coach Barnes said.

Ozaukee was up, 16-14, in the second set but couldn’t close it. They finished the season 17-16.

“Our season was a success,” Barnes said.