Janesville Craig’s Abbie Claas (22) follows through on one of her 19 kills against Madison Memorial Thursday night on Bob Suter Court.
DAVID SHEEN/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
JANESVILLE —- Janesville Craig rallied back from down 2-1 to force a set five but fell short, with Madison Memorial winning, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18, 25-27, 15-11, in Big Eight Conference volleyball Thursday night on Bob Suter Court.
The Cougars (28-6, 8-1) entered the night undefeated in Big Eight Conference play and needed the win to secure a solo conference championship. The Cougars will finish as co-champions with Verona, marking the fourth time they secured a Big Eight Conference championship.
“I’m very proud of them,” head coach Emily Collas said. “Our beginning goal was to take it game by game, and I think we stuck to that.”
In the final set, the Spartans built a 7-2 advantage when Craig junior outside hitter Abbie Claas sustained an injury. Claas, who led the Cougars with 19 kills, needed assistance to get to the bench. Collas believed Claas had a left-calf cramp.
Janesville Craig’s Sophie Hanna stretches for a save in the Cougars’ 5-set loss to Madison Memorial Thursday night.
DAVID SHEEN/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
Craig fought to narrow the gap to 11–9, but without Claas’s powerful hitting, the Cougars fell short.
“We played really well, but our problem was we’d get down and we’d stay down,” defensive specialist Ava Schaffner said. “It was hard to get back up after being down a couple points.”
Craig won the second set 25-20. The Cougars built a 3-0 lead and trailed once at 14-13 but tied the set with a kill from Abbi Gryttenholm and gained the lead with a point from Sophie Hanna on a serve.
Janesville Craig’s Ellie McCormick dives for a dig in the Cougars’ 5-set loss to Madison Memorial Thursday night.
DAVID SHEEN/SPECIAL FOR THE GAZETTE
After falling in the third set, Craig needed to win the fourth set. A five-serve streak from Claas pushed Craig from a 10-9 deficit to a 14-10 lead. However, Madison Memorial wasn’t going down without a fight. A kill by middle blocker Hannah Mlsna tied the set at 25 but an attacking error and kill by Hanna gave Craig the two points it needed.
“I know it’s disappointing but we can’t let it reflect our whole season. I thought they played tough. I thought we started off slow and then we had peaks and valleys throughout the whole game. We had moments of greatness and moments of weakness.”
The Cougars will have one more regular season game when Waterford travels to Suter Court Thursday, Oct. 16 for a 7 p.m. game. After that it’s on to the playoffs.
“We’re going to see some really tough teams,” Schaffner said, “but I think we’re a good team too. I just think we’ll need to play our best in order to move on through regionals and hopefully sectionals.”
MADISON MEMORIAL 3, JANESVILLE CRAIG 2
Madison Memorial 25 20 25 25 15
Janesville Craig 22 25 18 27 11
Craig leaders—Kills: Claas 19, Hanna 18. Assists: Chloe Adams 35. Blocks: Aalayah Saulsberry 6, Adams 5. Digs: Schaffner 17, Adams 12. Service aces: Hanna 3, Adams 3.
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