Written by Jack Hart
Monticello battled back after dropping the opening set to take down St. Joseph-Ogden in a conference matchup Tuesday night, earning a three-set victory.
SJO came out strong in the opening set, taking a 25-10 win and putting Monticello behind early.
The Sages responded in the second set, battling their way to a 25-23 victory to even the match and set up a decisive third set.
Monticello carried that momentum into the final set, closing out SJO 25-21 to complete the comeback and secure the three-set win.
Senior setter Emma Arnold led the offense with 11 assists, while senior outside hitter Thea Key powered the attack with 10 kills. Junior outside hitter Hayden Curtis added four aces from the service line.
After the match, Key said the Sages knew they needed to make adjustments following the difficult opening set.
“The first set was rough, but we knew we needed to come out stronger, and that’s what we did. We kind of lit a fire through the whole team, and it just spread through everyone.”
For Monticello, the biggest focus during the huddle between sets was regaining confidence and limiting mistakes.
“We just needed to fix our errors and grow confidence. We were a little in our head, but we knew we wanted to come out. This is a big game, big win, so we just wanted to do that.”
That confidence showed in the final two sets as Monticello fought its way back and finished the night with the victory.
Key also pointed to the team’s ability to support one another as a major reason they were able to turn things around.
“We just build each other up. If one person makes a mistake, we’re like, ‘You got it. You good at next.’ Give it to them next and they’re going to put it down.”
With the victory, Monticello moves to 8-10 on the season.
The Sages will look to keep the momentum rolling Thursday when they travel to IVC for their next matchup.
