Don’t sleep on Moniteau girls volleyball, Butler soccer faces last chance to make WPIALs: What to watch
Kaitlyn Loos had to figure out how to replace a key player. Her team hasn’t been entirely steady.
Still, the Moniteau girls volleyball coach believes the Warriors are trending toward the postseason.
Others have begun to see what they can do, as well.
“I actually had a previous coach, last night, tell me at our game, he said, ‘Word on the street is that you can’t sleep on Moniteau, because they’ll come back and get you,’” Loos said last week. “They don’t know what we can do. I guess we’re kinda the underdogs.”
The Warriors bowed to Keystone on Thursday, losing 26-24 in the first set before dropping the second 25-9. That served as a microcosm for Moniteau’s season to this point.
“We never really know (if) we’re gonna play well one night or we’re gonna play really rough the next night, but we’re really starting to pull it through,” Loos said.
Junior Emily Matz, who Loos dubbed an “all-star,” is leading the Warriors in kills and blocks as a middle hitter, unexpectedly thrust into the role at the beginning of the season. If every Moniteau player performed to Matz’ potential every night, the team “would be unstoppable,” Loos said.
Sayge Brunst, Loos’ daughter, began the year as a middle hitter but has slid outside. Brunst confounds opponents with her ability to hit both lefty and righty.
Danilyn Wallace is currently sidelined with a concussion. She’s been replaced by Charlotte Thompson, who Loos believed deserved varsity time earlier but was buried behind other players.
Loos said as of Friday her team was 6-8 and “smack dab in the middle” of their league. Even if it doesn’t go .500, a typical guideline for the District 9 playoffs, Loos feels Moniteau’s school board would support their participation.
The Warriors could pull their record even this week with matchups against Union and A-C Valley, the latter of which Moniteau has already beaten. The match against the Falcons will also be the Warriors’ senior night.
“If we can pull those out, I don’t think we’ll have a problem going to playoffs,” Loos said. “If we pull it together and everyone’s on their ‘A’ game, we’re gonna pull out the wins. (I tell them) that they get that three-minute break before the next game, it’s just something you have to fight for.”
With a win over North Hills last week, the Golden Tornado positioned themselves for a chance to reach the WPIAL Class 4A postseason. Troy Mohney’s team hosts likely Section 3 champion Fox Chapel on Tuesday before closing out section play against Pine-Richland on Thursday.
A win against either would punch Butler’s playoff ticket.
The Planets, defending WPIAL Class 3A champions, have fallen behind Hampton in the Section 2 standings, despite the two teams sporting a 5-1 section mark. If the Planets want a chance to keep their section crown, they’ll likely have to pull out victories against Highlands on Tuesday and Valley on Thursday.
