ON THE ATTACK: Moniteau Uses Strong Match at the Net to Power Past Keystone in Five-Set Thriller

WEST SUNBURY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — The Moniteau volleyball team gathered in a huddle after watching an 18-10 lead in the third set evaporate and turn into a disheartening 25-21 loss.

It put the Warriors down two games to one and had them reeling.

This time, however, was different. A stark contrast to how the team would have reacted before. There was confidence. Not doubt. Heads were up. Not down.

(Pictured above, Moniteau senior Davina Pry)

“In the past, whenever we wouldn’t do well, we’d hang our heads,” said Moniteau senior outside hitter Davina Pry. “This has been a big improvement for us. We do a good job of getting back it. We kept going. We kept our heads held high.”

Moniteau recovered from that third-set letdown, rallying to win the next two to topple visiting Keystone in a five-set thriller, 25-19, 13-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-11, on Tuesday night.

“We had a lot of adrenaline today,” Pry said. “The student section was really big today. There were a lot of fans here. That helped get us going and helped us battle through.”

Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.

Pry had a big night with 10 kills. She was hot early, helping the Warriors to the first-set win.

Then it was others’ turn in a well-balanced offensive attack.

Marissa Pry also shined with nine kills. Lily Staab pitched in another eight kills. And Sydney Bayless had five kills and six blocks for Moniteau (2-1), which has already equalled its win total from a season ago.

What made Warrior coach Kaitlyn Loos even more proud was the way her team finished.

Strong.

“I’m really happy,” Loos said. “Last year, we would always go into that fifth game and we could never pull it out, we could never pull through. We’ve been pushing this year, trying to get them to believe they can do it. We have a lot of different girls in a lot of different positions.”

(Moniteau celebrates after closing out Keystone in five sets)

In the offseason, Loos identified hitting as the key to the success of this team.

Moniteau attacked well against Keystone.

“If we can keep hitting, we won’t have a problem,” Loos said. “Tonight was a big difference.”

After losing the first set, Keystone stormed back to win the next two.

The Panthers cruised in the second game as junior Ava Patrick got hot, putting down five of her match-high 14 kills in that set.

Keystone fell behind by eight in the third game, but outscored Moniteau 15-3 the rest of the way to steal the 2-1 lead.

Sophomore Lilly Shumaker keyed the comeback with three kills down the stretch.

But Moniteau seized leads early in the fourth and fifth sets and were able to pull out the victory.

Keystone (1-2) has a young team and coach Bryan Mong is still experimenting with his rotation.

“We have a deep bench and on any given night I can put in a bunch of girls,” Mong said. “We’re young and we’re gonna take some bruises this year. I just told them it’s only a loss if we don’t learn from it.”

Patrick also had four blocks, 10 service points and four aces for Keystone.

“She’s definitely our net presence,” Mong said of Patrick. “She’s the one we need to go to. She definitely has ice in her veins.”

Gwyn Manno, a junior libero, also had a strong night for Keystone with 30 digs.

“She’s like all liberos — she puts her body through a lot,” Mong said. “If it’s in the court, she’s gonna go after it. She had a great game passing as well.”

Mong has already seen the progress.

“Quite honestly, we weren’t even in our first match against Franklin,” Mong said. “Now we’re competing a little bit better.”

So is Moniteau, which has some high hopes for this season after losing several close matches last year.

“Hopefully we can just keep climbing,” Loos said. “Everyone is stepping up and playing exactly how they need to play every single night. They’re picking each other up. They’re super close. That’s our secret weapon. They’re all so close.”

Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.