The Kewanee Boiler Girls dug deep and found a new gear Monday night after suffering a 25-12 game one set back to the hard-hitting Monmouth-Roseville Titans. 

In front of a supportive Senior Night crowd, Kewanee defeated the Titans in the final two games of the match, 25-22, 25-21 to claim the Three Rivers Conference win. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of the seniors and the rest of the team,” said Coach Brea Cinnamon. “It was truly a full team effort, from the players who were on the court and those on the sidelines cheering on their teammates,” she added.

In game one action, the score was tied 4-4, but soon after the wheels started coming off for the Boiler Girls. During a six-point Titan swing, Mon-Rose hitter Makenzi Aguirre landed three solid kills to force a Kewanee timeout with the Boiler Girls down 4-10. 

Two plays later, Natalie Boyd took over at the serving line for Mon-Rose and recorded back-to-back aces during a string of eight straight points. Elise Blaesing had two kills in that stretch for Mon-Rose who now had a commanding 19-5 lead. 

The final stretch of the game featured a kill and an ace by Kewanee senior Jillian Bennison, a kill by freshman Macee Pickering and a tip by senior Avery Yepsen, but the Titans lead was insurmountable and the Boilers Girls lost 25-12. 

Early on in the second set, it appeared the momentum was still in favor of the Titans, who led 5-3. Kewanee junior Aaliyah Duarte provided a spark after recording consecutive kills to knot the score at five. She later landed another kill, but the Boiler Girls were still down 6-10. 

A big shift then lifted the Boiler Girls out their slump and into an 11-11 tie. An integral part of that shift was the play of junior hitter Tejhiana Amos. During that stretch she had a tip and two kills for Kewanee. 

Duarte then added a pair of ace serves to prompt a Mon-Rose timeout with Kewanee now leading 14-11. Senior Emma Ellenberger had a block and two kills to extend Kewanee’s lead 16-11. Mon-Rose then charged back with seven straight points to take back the lead at 18-16. 

Macee Pickering had two kills and Bennison had one to give KHS a 21-19 advantage – a lead they’d never relinquish. Duarte had two kills and teamed up with Bennison for a block, giving Kewanee the 25-22 win. 

In the final game, Bennison and Duarte each had two kills and Ellenberger had a pair of aces to give Kewanee a 10-4 lead. Kills by Blaesing and Brianna Woodard kept the Titans close at 14-11. 

Several miscues by the Titans helped to extend Kewanee’s lead to 18-14. Blaesing had back-to-back kills, but Kewanee maintained a thin 20-19 lead. Kewanee’s front line then came up big with a few key blocks by Amos and Duarte down the stretch to give Kewanee the 25-21 win.

“After the first set, we made some adjustments on our defensive positions and did a better job of anticipating where Mon-Rose’s hits were going,” said Coach Cinnamon. “Our blockers also started to make some big stops.”

The Boiler Girls were once again winners at all three levels. The sophomore team won 25-15, 25-10 and move to 31-4 on the season. The freshmen girls won 25-12, 25-19 and move to 26-1-1 overall. 

Stats for the varsity match:

Taylor VanWinkle: 5 digs, 2 service points

Tejhiana Amos: 5 kills, 1 digs

Emma Ellenberger: 4 kills, 2 blocks, 6 digs, 2 aces, 8 service points

Macee Pickering: 8 assists, 3 kills, 1 dig

Melissa Fragoso: 1 dig, 1 service point

Jillian Bennison: 5 kills, 9 digs, 1 ace, 11 service points 

Aaliyah Duarte: 8 kills, 2 blocks, 3 digs, 3 aces, 6 service points

Marlee Bates: 2 digs

Avery Yepsen: 14 assists, 4 kills, 3 digs, 4 service points

Damaris Diaz: 1 assist