Knights finish season at 13-16; Mustangs, Patriots set to battle
Norfolk Catholic gave Stanton a second-set scare, but the top-ranked Mustangs ultimately swept the upstart Knights 25-15, 25-23, 25-21 in the semifinals of the C2-6 subdistrict at Wisner-Pilger High School.
The Mustangs will meet Clarkson/Leigh in Tuesday night's final. In their match, the Patriots dropped the first two sets and faced a match point in the third before upending Battle Creek 24-26, 14-25, 28-26, 25-18, 15-7.
Norfolk Catholic earlier earned the right to take on Stanton by defeating Madison in the evening's first match, 25-8, 25-11, 25-11.
In the night's finale, Stanton scored the first three points and led 11-9 before reeling off 10 straight points that included two Liz Christensen kills, four Norfolk Catholic attack errors and a pair of Bree Burtwistle service aces.
The second set was a different story. Norfolk Catholic came out swinging. Mary Fennessy served and sparked a five point run that was highlighted by an Abby Miller Block, a Carly Marshall kill and Fennessy ace to put the Knights up 11-5.
Another Miller kill, an Anna Neuhalfen service ace and a pair of Stanton attack errors made the score 15-6.
But in winning 26 of their first 27 matches, the Mustangs proved they were more than capable of catching fire and overcoming deficits. A seven-point run that included two Burtwistle kills and Jaiden Hartl service cut the Norfolk Catholic lead to 16-14.
A pair of Hayden Wolf kills and trio of Stanton errors extended the Knights' advantage to 22-17 and had Norfolk Catholic within three points of tying the match. But the resilient Mustangs scored eight of the next nine points, including three more Burtwistle kills, to take the set 25-23.
"We kept fighting," Stanton coach Tracy Kuester said. "We worked our way back into it, tied it up and pushed and finished the game. They didn't focus on the score, they focused on what we can control and they started controlling that."
The Mustangs jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the third set, but Norfolk Catholic would not go away. Stanton led 17-11 when the Knights went on a 4-0 run fueled by a Neuhalfen kill and Fennessy block.
But the Mustangs responded with a four-spot of their own with an Elle Locke kill and two Reba Waskowiak service aces to make it 21-15.
The Mustangs led 24-19 when the Knights fended off two match points. Wolf and Miller combined for a block to make the score 24-21, but another Burtwistle kill ended the match.
The Knights closed the curtain on the 2018 campaign with a recorded of 13-16. Four of the late season wins came against teams they'd lost to earlier in the year (Wayne, Pierce, O'Neill and Lutheran High Northeast) and seven of the last eight victories came against teams with winning records.
"The beginning of the season was pretty rough," Norfolk Catholic Coach Michaela Barry said. "But at the end they really were resilient and found a way to win some big games. They ended up making a lot progress throughout the year and I'm proud of them."
All eight of the Knights who saw the majority of the playing time will return in 2019, but Barry had special praise for her two seniors: Cara Leader and Emma Neuhalfen.
"They didn't get a lot playing time on the court, but they were great leaders and teammates in practice and off the court," she said.
Tuesday's final will mark the third time this year East Husker rivals Stanton and Clarkson/Leigh will square off. The Mustangs have swept the Patriots both times.
"How we've looked at it this whole season is that we're the team that has the x on our back," Kuester said. "We're the team that other teams want to beat and we just have to know that and have to come and compete every single game, every single point."
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