“It was tiring, and it was really intense,” Versailles coach Kenzie Bruggeman said. “But I felt like we remained calm the entire time.”
Staying calm, cool and collected wasn’t easy as the first two sets were tight from opening serve until the final point.
Knotted at 22-22, Liz Ording and Lindsey Winner pounded in a pair of go-ahead kills and Winner put up a big block to close out the opening set. Winner, a junior middle blocker and Ording, a senior right-side hitter, combined for 25 of the Tigers 38 kills in the match.
The second set was more of the same with powerful attacks and unrelenting defensive plays on both sides of the net. Versailles went up 2-0 having won only four more points than the Blue Devils through the first two sets.
“They are a tremendous team,” Independence coach Tony Messina said of Versailles. “They have it all and they’re really well coached.”
While the Blue Devils tied the third set several times, Independence could never steal the lead. The balanced Versailles offense flipped an 8-8 tie into a 12-8 lead and fought to maintain the momentum.
“It’s what we do every day in practice,” Bruggeman said. “They are constantly facing pressure situations.”
As a Midwest Athletic Conference team, the Tigers are used to pressure situations – match after match, week after week. The competitive schedule, paired with several players in new roles, led to quite a few losses. Versailles tallied twice as many losses – 10 – as the rest of the D-III state qualifiers combined. At one point, the Tigers were struggling at 10-10.
Ording and the other three seniors all stepped up for the now 20-10 Tigers, including setter Kelsey Custenborder who got the nod as the starting setter this season. She finished the day with 31 assists, eight digs and three kills.
“This means so much more than last year,” she said, choking back tears of joy.
Division IV: The day started with high-fives and smiles but ended with hugs and tears as the New Bremen Cardinals fell just short of earning a back-to-back D-IV state volleyball title.
The Calvert Senecas – first-time state qualifiers with a first-year coach at the helm – battled to a 12-25, 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10 win at the Nutter Center Saturday.
The Cardinals started strong, rattling off five points before the Senecas lit up the scoreboard once. Calvert cut the gap to 3-8, but Cardinals middle hitter Rachel Kremer capped a five-point run with an ace to give New Bremen a commanding 13-3 lead – one Calvert couldn’t overcome.
The second set was knotted 19-19 late when Senecas defensive specialist Sydney Johnson helped Calvert gain the momentum. Johnson pounded in a pair of aces, helping the Senecas even it up at a set apiece.
“Unfortunately, our ball control broke down a little bit and we became predictable,” New Bremen coach Diana Kramer said.
The Cardinals, 24-5, lose four players to graduation including Kremer who posted 12 kills and three aces. But New Bremen returns a solid core of players including junior outside hitter Taylor Paul who led all players with 15 kills and four aces.
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