The MFL MarMac volleyball team concluded its season last week, opening Class 2A postseason play with a victory over Postville but losing a quarterfinal match-up to Beckman Catholic. 

The Bulldogs were 2-1 against the Pirates during the regular season, and came away with a third win on Oct. 20, in a first round playoff game in Monona. They earned a 3-0 sweep by scores of 25-11, 25-15 and 25-10, bolstered by a strong .274 kill efficiency. Lily Johnson smashed a team-high nine kills, while Maddie Keehner dropped eight and Payton McElwaine and Blair Winter each had six. Addison Corlett dished out 32 assists.

Lauryn Johnson anchored MFL MarMac’s back row defense with 13 digs, followed by seven from both Devon Meyer and Lily Johnson. Macy McGeough snagged six digs. Winter recorded one solo block and Keehner and Lily Johnson each had a block assist. 

The Bulldogs made just over 90 percent of their serves on the night, led by a 13/14 performance from Kensey Ball, who picked up a pair of aces. Corlett made 12 of 13 attempts, while Lauryn Johnson was a perfect 11/11 with an ace. Lily Johnson racked up four aces on 10/12 serving.

The win set MFL MarMac up with an Oct. 23 match at Beckman Catholic, the fifth-ranked team in Class 2A with a record of 29-7. The Blazers came out on top 3-0 thanks to scores of 25-10, 25-10 and 25-9.

“Our loss to Beckman Catholic was a tough one to end on. We had a solid scouting report and a clear game plan, but we just didn’t execute,” said MFL MarMac Head Coach Becky Johnson. “Honestly, we looked like fish out of water. This is where we have to grow—learning to play to win instead of playing scared to lose. That mindset shift is what will take us to the next level.”

The Bulldogs earned just nine kills against the Blazers, who thwarted their attempts with 11 blocks. There were two kills apiece from Lily Johnson, Winter and McGeough, and Keehner, McElwaine and Corlett each recorded one kill. Corlett led the team with eight assists.

Lauryn Johnson nabbed seven digs for the MFL MarMac defense, Lily Johnson four and Corlett three. The team had no blocks.

The Bulldogs had a higher serve efficiency than Beckman, at 90 versus 87.8 percent, but the Blazers cranked out 11 aces while the Bulldogs had none. Corlett was a perfect 7/7 in the game, and McGeough a perfect 5/5 from the service line.

“Obviously, we wanted to go further in the postseason, but I’m extremely proud of what this group accomplished,” Johnson said.

She noted this season’s record of 15–23 (.395) reflects clear progress. 

“Over the past two seasons, the program finished 7–21 (.250) in 2024 and 7–17 (.292) in 2023, so this group nearly doubled its wins and posted the best winning percentage since 2021 (.538). The improvement is even more impressive when compared to the program’s decade average of roughly .300—showing that we’re trending upward and regaining competitive ground,” shared Johnson.

This year’s team also broke four school records, including most kills in a season with 815, besting the previous record of 646 set in 2019. Their 726 assists were also most in a season, far surpassing the 624 from 2019. Shattering a previous season record of 206 set in 1998, the 2025 Bulldogs amassed 243 aces, in addition to tying the record of 2.5 for best service ace average, also set in 1998.

There were standout individual performances too, as Corlett broke her own school record for most assists in a season, at 617, and set a new record for best assist average (6.4), surpassing Christina Collins’s mark of 6 from 2008.

Lily Johnson set a new school record for most aces in a season with 71, breaking Kelly Echard’s record of 62 from 1998.

“Beyond the stats, we broke several long-standing droughts. We were the only team in the [Upper Iowa Conference] not swept in conference play this season. We took New Hampton to four sets—the first time we’ve won a set against them since 2019—and pushed conference champion North Fayette Valley to five very close sets, the only team in the UIC to do so. We also took sets from Crestwood and Waukon for the first time in several years,” Johnson said.

Through it all, Johnson believes the team proved it can play tough matches at a high level. The next step is learning how to sustain that and break through in postseason play. 

“I truly believe this group started to believe in our program this year—and I hope they cherish the memories they made together,” she said.

MFL MarMac will lose five seniors—Keehner, Meyer, Lauryn Johnson, Brooke Hackett and Alexa McElwaine—who the coach said “truly made this season what it was, one of the best and most enjoyable teams I’ve ever coached. My hope is that the girls remember more than just the game, because our seniors have left a lasting legacy for this program.”

The Bulldogs return eight players to the varsity squad in 2026, giving a strong foundation to build on. 

“I have no doubt we’ll continue to grow from this season,” Johnson said.