Alivia Bruegger goes low to return the volleyball during one of the Rebels’ home games earlier this year.

The No. 14-seeded United South Central volleyball team took on the No. 3-seeded Cedar Mountain team in the first round of the Section 2A Volleyball Tournament, on Monday, Oct. 20.

Unfortunately, the USC Rebels lost 3-1 to the Cedar Mountain Cougars, and the Rebels’ volleyball season came to an end. Their season record was 6-20, and they were 2-8 in the Gopher Conference.

The set scores against Cedar Mountain were 25-20, 21-25, 25-10, 25-13.

“The girls played tough tonight and I was proud of their effort,” coach Joe Kuechenmeister said. “Cedar Mountain has a lot of talent and firepower, and we were toe-to-toe with them through two and a half sets of the match. I thought our back row was solid in serve receive and that allowed us to be offensive against a disciplined defensive team.”

The Rebels’ coach added that the block really impacted Cedar Mountain and induced errors from their hitters.

“Unfortunately we struggled to control/adjust to their offspeed attacks and tips, and that allowed them to gain separation in sets one, three, and four,” Kuechenmeister said. “The match as a whole was a microcosm of our season. We were competitive and right there in the majority of our matches, but struggled to maintain our level from start to finish. That ended up costing us some opportunities to win, but wasn’t a reflection of the kids effort at all. Just a lesson to learn going forward. They battled.”

Chloe Bullerman again led the way with 15 kills, seven digs and six blocks.

Alivia Bruegger had seven kills and six digs, while Jaelyn Stangler had six kills and two blocks.

Kaydra Haugh had three kills, seven digs and one ace, while Reanna Obermeyer had one kill and two digs. Olivia Bird had eight digs, Carissa Hanson had three digs and one ace, Presley Brandenburg had one dig and one ace and Alyssa Winkle had one dig.

Izzy Bird had 22 assists, four digs and one ace, and Leigha Tolzman had seven assists, three digs and one ace.

“I think this group has a bright future with so much on court varsity experience coming back,” the Rebels’ mentor added. “That said you have to give a shout out to our senior class for their leadership this season, and paving the way for what will be a successful future of Rebel Volleyball. “