Bedford's volleyball team opens District tourney with win over Monroe

Bedford's volleyball team watched a special game film last week.

As the Mules were preparing for the opening round of their Division 1 District match against Monroe, the team gathered to watch tape of Bedford’s 1998 volleyball state championship team.

If the point of watching the ’98 team’s championship run was to bring energy to the team and take the first step in making a playoff run – it worked.

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Bedford beat Monroe Monday 25-10, 25-7, 25-17 to advance to the District semifinals.

Head coach Bree (Hickman) Russow and assistant coach Melissa (Lyczkowski) Brown were both on that Bedford state title team.

So, when the squad kept asking to see the game tape, Brown asked her mother to search for it.

“The girls had talked about watching it for a while, so my mom found the VHS player and the tape,” Melissa Brown said. “I think they got a kick out of watching it.”

Both coaches view this team as capable of doing what they did during their championship run.

“They have the drive and they have the determination,” Russow said. “They’ve had a tremendous season.”

“The competitiveness and the desire are definitely there,” Brown added.

Brown’s daughter, Alivia, is an outside hitter for the Mules and played with the championship mettle that her mother said she sees in the team during Monday’s victory.

The junior was exceptional around the net, notching 14 kills and played a solid role on defense with 11 digs. She led the team in both statistical categories Monday.

“I came with the attitude – this is the first round of Districts, let’s make a statement and let’s get after it,” Brown said.

Brown said she puts in a lot of work to hone her skills, but it’s really the competitive nature of the team that pushes each member to excel.

“All of us on the team we push each other and hold each other accountable,” she said. “We’re always putting in hard work on the court, at practice and in the game.”

Kailyn Schroeder flashed the fruits of that hard work early in the second set when she had a string of 10 straight serves that pushed Bedford out to a 10-0 lead.

“I realized, oh my gosh, she had just served it and now it’s 10-0, you don’t see that all that much,” Russow said. “She keeps her composure, she goes back there, I was giving her zones and she serving zones, mixing it up and I think that’s part of the consistency, she’s been doing a great job for us.”

Monroe coach Angela Tedora was disappointed in the outcome for her team but complimented Bedford.

“Tonight was a tough one. It’s not the type of three-set match you want to end your season on. Bedford has a highly talented squad,” she said. "We knew going in that we had to control the ball on our side of the net and that did not happen in the first two sets.”

The Trojans battled in the final set but ultimately saw their season come to an end.

Avery Collett had 5 kills and 6 digs, while Alana Aulph added 9 digs to lead the Trojans.

Tedora stressed that adversity is a part of life and she hopes her team takes that away from their experiences this season.

“Throughout the season, we do a lot more than just talk about volleyball,” she said. “The final message to the team tonight was about hard work. In life, you might not always get the results you desire, but if you work hard and give it your all, you can hold your head high and be proud of yourself.”

Monroe bids farewell to five seniors – Collett, Aulph, Jaiden Gilstorf, Mara Bica, and Amanda Leicht.

Bedford will play Gibraltar Carlson in the District semifinals at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Bedford shows spirit of '98 in opening-round win over Monroe