Women’s volleyball has just wrapped up with the 2020 season. The Lady Bulldogs ended the season as consolation champions. They went into the state tournament, which took place in Watertown for class A, with a regular season record of 14-4. They were seeded eighth in the state tournament, but beat three of the teams that were seeded higher than then.
With heavy hearts, the Bulldog’s say goodbye to four seniors on the starting lineup this year. Sophia Vandenbosch (outside hitter), Autumn Barger (outside hitter), Abby Brooks (middle hitter), and Skyler Sargent (ride side hitter). All of these seniors have been playing volleyball all four years of high school and will be greatly missed as leaders and role-models out on the court. Abby Brooks has even committed to continue her volleyball career at Northern State University in Aberdeen.
One major milestone of the season was junior setter Kylie Krusemark getting her 1000th set assist. Krusemark has been a varsity starter since sophomore year and this year took charge being the full time setter on the court. Another notable accomplishment was Abby Brooks beating the school record with 400 kills in a single season. She beat the previous record holder, Olivia Rud, with fourteen less games played. Brooks had an outstanding state tournament with 59 total kills and making the all-tournament team.
The Bulldog’s lost the first game at state against Sioux Falls Christian Chargers. This year marked the 4th year in a row the Chargers have won the state championship. Madison bounced back though, and won the next two games of the tournament against Winner and Rapid City Christian. They won the consolation championship with a sweep against RCC.
Early into the volleyball season, the Lady Bulldogs took the victory over the 2nd place finishers at the state tournament, the Dakota Valley Panthers. This was a huge accomplishment for Madison since they were the clear underdogs going into the game. They beat the Panthers in 5 games. In the entirety of Jill Kratovil’s head coaching career, this was her first win against Dakota Valley.
When asked to speak about the season, head coach Jill Kratovil stated, “This season was one of the most interesting seasons I have coached but that didn’t stop the girls from coming in everyday and working hard. This team started the season ranked top five and ended the season ranked number 2. These girls definitely peaked at the right time and had an amazing state tournament and couldn’t be more proud of them. Losing the first round but coming back and playing their best volleyball to finish off the tournament was a perfect end to this season.”
The Madison Lady Bulldogs had a wonderful season and are excited to start rebuilding next year.