HTC girls sweep West Burlington

FORT MADISON - Elizabeth Griffin’s serving befuddled West Burlington’s defense.
And that was one of the main factors in Holy Trinity’s 25-11, 25-19, 25-19 sweep of the Falcons on Tuesday night at Shottenkirk Gym.
Griffin had eight of Holy Trinity’s 16 service aces in the match, helping the fifth-ranked (Class 1A) Crusaders win their 16th consecutive match and clinch a share of the SEISC South Division title.
The Crusaders (21-3 overall, 6-0 South Division) can finish a sweep of the division and the outright crown on Thursday at Van Buren County, and they’ll be coming off one of the toughest matches in this current winning streak.
West Burlington (20-9, 3-1) challenged Holy Trinity in the second and third sets before the Crusaders prevailed, and it’s something coach Melissa Freesmeier expected and appreciated at this point of the season.
“We knew this was going to happen,” she said. “West Burlington comes in. They're good defensively, they're going to go at us. And I thought that we held our composure. We had to settle down sometimes, but then we got started again. So to beat them 3-0 is a big deal. They're a great ball club, and I thought our kids did pretty well.”
“It was a good challenge,” Griffin said.
Griffin has 42 aces this season, the most on the Crusaders, and has served at a 95.3% clip. Her consistent placement kept the Falcons guessing.
“I was just hitting the spots where Melissa told me to serve,” Griffin said.
“She hits her spots,” Freesmeier said. “She's hitting everything I'm giving her. She goes deep, and then she'll go short, and she'll go deep again. So they never know what she's doing. She's yo-yoing all night, and she did a great job tonight.”

Griffin had three aces in an early 7-2 run by Holy Trinity in the first set, but two of her biggest were back-to-back aces in the third set that gave the Crusaders a 20-16 lead.
That set was when the Falcons put on the most pressure, scoring eight consecutive points for a 13-9 lead. They led 14-11 before a 4-0 run by the Crusaders capped by Olivia Bendlage’s kill. West Burlington would forge two ties before Holy Trinity was able to regain control and finish the match.
“I thought we were really connecting well on our sets,” said Griffin, who led the Crusaders with 40 assists. “And our middles really hit the ball well.”
The Crusaders haven’t lost a set during this winning streak.
“This has been a good stretch for us,” Freesmeier said. “We got Notre Dame the other night, and then West Burlington. This division is so tough, and these last two have challenged us.”
HOLY TRINITY STATISTICS
Kills — Kate Pieper 11, Adalyn Kruse 10, Olivia Bendlage 10, Kymber Jones 7, Makayla Simpson 4.
Serving — Griffin 19-21 (8 aces), Calli Kruse 16-16 (3), Pieper 9-9, Bendlage 9-11 (2), Layne Schmitt 6-7 (1), Brynn Denning 3-3 (1) Jones 3-4 (1), A.Kruse 1-3.
Digs — Denning 23, Bendlage 13, A.Kruse 13, Griffin 7, Brooklyn Scheetz 7, Jones 5, C.Kruse 2, Pieper 2, Schmitt 2, Simpson 1.
Assists — Griffin 40, Denning 1.
Blocks — Pieper 2, Simpson 2, Jones 1.