ARGENTA - The Class A girls volleyball regional tournament here started on Tuesday and finished up Thursday.

 

Mount Pulaski stuck to its nickname and came out as 'Toppers.

MP blew through Farmer City Blue Ridge 25-5, 25-9 in the semifinals. They then continued on their path of destruction with their sights set on Warrensburg-Latham. The Lady Cardinals were no match for the rampaging Lady 'Toppers, who won 25-10, 25-17.

"We came out ready to play," said senior team captain Christina Stoll.

MP now advances to the Danville Schlarman sectional. The team will face Kansas at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Against Blue Ridge, the Lady Toppers had very little sympathy for the weak defense of the Knights. Blue Ridge managed to scrape out five points in the first game. They didn't fare much better in the second.

"It was just another one of those all-out team efforts," Mount Pulaski coach Donna Dulle said.

In the end, Blue Ridge fell in a half-hour matchup. The Lady 'Toppers had a total of 14 kills: Stoll with five, Kaitlyn Kutz with four, and junior Kassi Schmidt with three.

The championship trophy was within Mount Pulaski's reach. The Lady Cardinals were just a technicality.

"We came out intense," Stoll said. "We shut down their big middle."

The big middle Stoll was referring to is senior Paige Fombelle, who she ended the match with two kills, three blocks and two digs.

"We just couldn't do anything with their good blocking," said W-L coach Sherry White. "They took us out of our hitting game."

Stoll was a huge part of the Lady 'Toppers solid net play.

"We played great team ball. Christina had a fabulous game," Dulle said. "Kassi and Kaitlyn also both played awesome tonight."

While the blockers were doing their job on the front line, the back row was picking up any ball that happened to slip past the armor.

Senior Elizabeth Fanning had four digs, while Michael Ely and Lindsay Durcholz had three apiece.

"We've played better defense before..." said White. "But tonight it would have had to have been flawless."

Stoll led MP with eight kills. Kutz had six and Schmidt and Morgan Litterly both contributed four.

Dulle summed up the night in one statement: "It's postseason. We're giving it all we got, every game, every play, we're leaving it all out on the floor."