Norfolk Catholic upsets top-seeded Wayne; Hartington CC awaits after sweep over BC
After going 7-22 last year and dropping their first seven matches this year, few predicted that the Norfolk Catholic Knights would play for a conference tournament championship later in the year.
But that's exactly what the Knights will do Thursday night following Tuesday's 29-31, 25-22, 25-27, 25-23 victory over Wayne in the semifinals of the Mid-State Conference Tournament here.
The first set was not for the faint of heart as the frame saw 12 ties and five lead changes.
Wayne took an early 8-4 lead after scoring five straight points in a string that included three Ashton Boyer kills-she had six for the set.
Wayne led 19-15 when Norfolk Catholic began a five-point rally that started with a pair of Bud Devil attack errors. An Anna Neuhalfen service ace followed by a solo block and kill put the Knights in front by one.
The teams traded points after that. As the set extended beyond the customary 25-point standard, Wayne fought off four match points and Norfolk Catholic two.
Following a Knight attack error, Wayne led 30-29 when Frankie Klausen's kill ended the set and gave the Blue Devils the 1-0 advantage.
"That whole first game was a battle," Wayne coach Traci Krusemark said. "We knew this was going to be a tough game because Norfolk Catholic is just playing well the last few weeks obviously. They're a way different team than when we played them early in the year."
Could the Knights regroup after the emotional first set loss? Coach Michaela Barry had no doubt.
"Our girls just kept battling back, they kept believing in each other. We talked about never giving up and not letting the balls die without a body going for it," she said.
Abby Miller paced the Knights in the second set with six kills and a block. Wayne's Boyer tied it at 21 with a kill, but Norfolk Catholic's Mary Fennessy answered with a block and a kill. That was followed with a Blue Devil attack error to make it 24-21.
A Knights service error cut the lead to two, but Fennessy finished it off with a kill to tie the match.
"After that set, they saw that they can play with them and that they should have won that first set, probably, in their eyes," Barry said. "So they had a little fire in 'em those last three sets."
Norfolk Catholic rode the momentum it gained in the second set into the third. The Knights opened with a 15-7 lead and never looked back. Hayden Wolf's kill on set point gave Norfolk Catholic a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Knights led 22-14 in the fourth set when Lauren Pick delivered three straight kills for Wayne to make it interesting. An Emily Armstrong service ace made the score 22-19.
But two Wayne errors provided Norfolk Catholic with a match point and Miller sealed the victory with a kill.
"We just gave them way too many long runs and they started gaining momentum and that's what the game of volleyball is all about," a disappointed Krusemark said.
In the other semifinal Hartington Cedar Catholic erased a 20-11 deficit in the first set on the way to a 25-23, 25-13, 25-15 victory over Battle Creek.
Wayne returns to Pierce on Thursday at 6 p.m. to take on Battle Creek for third place. Krusemark said her Blue Devils will be ready. "We just have to bring energy. Energy eliminates errors and makes the game go a lot smoother and we just turn it off and on and we have to make sure it's turned on," she said.
Norfolk Catholic and Hartington Cedar Catholic will then tangle for the conference tournament championship at 7:30.
The Knights' victory over Wayne marked the third time this season they've avenged an earlier defeat. They'll get another chance Thursday against Cedar. The Trojans defeated Norfolk Catholic in straight sets on Sept. 11.
Barry called the season a process.
"You're climbing up the mountain and you have to be willing to fight every step of that way," she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment