Lady Crusaders cruise to Classic title

FORT MADISON - It’s a week in which Holy Trinity’s volleyball team could play 11 matches in six days.
Winning the championship of the HTC Classic on Monday night at Shottenkirk Gym was a good way to start.
The Crusaders swept all four of their matches, defeating Mediapolis 21-10, 21-9 in the championship match.
Holy Trinity (12-3), ranked third in Class 1A, is on a seven-match winning streak. The Crusaders defeated Keokuk 21-14, 21-5 to open the night, then beat WACO 21-5, 21-10 and Fort Madison 21-5, 21-4 to reach the final, where they swept the Bullettes for the second time in less than a week.
“I think we’re playing amazing,” said senior Elizabeth Griffin. “We’re having a lot of fun right now. I think this can really be a good week for us.”
It was the start of another benchmark in the Crusaders’ season, which could be known as Tournament Week. There’s this tournament, then after Tuesday’s home match with Central Lee, the Crusaders will play in the opening round of the Southeast Iowa Super Conference on Thursday at WACO, and then they’re favored to advance to Saturday’s final session of the conference tournament at Southeastern Community College.
“It’s a really big week for us,” said junior Olivia Bendlage, who had 15 kills and 23 digs on the night. “It’s definitely hard playing that many games in a week. You really have to rely on your teammates, and rest your body. You’ve got to bring the energy, even when you’re tired. Energy can win you a game, and I believe that.”
“You just have to make sure you’re rested, and be ready for anything that happens,” Griffin said.
Holy Trinity coach Melissa Freesmeier said she likes where her team is at going into this week.
“Last week we got rolling again, and now here we are this week getting to play a lot,” Freesmeier said. “I think the team chemistry is coming along. We started a little slow tonight in that first game against Keokuk, but then we got going.”

“I felt like we started out slow in our first game, but I feel like as the night went on, we really played well,” Bendlage said. “I thought we showed our full potential against Fort Madison.” 
The Crusaders had 120 digs combined in the tournament along with 14 blocks, including seven from freshman Kate Pieper. On offense, Adalyn Kruse led Holy Trinity with 20 kills, while Pieper had 18.
“Defensively, we picked things up,” Freesmeier said. “Offensively, I thought our hitters were everywhere. That's tough to defend when you're the opposing team. It's not just one or two hitters for us. We’ve got five or six.”
Fort Madison finished fourth in the tournament, falling to Danville 21-15, 21-18 in the third-place match. The Bloodhounds went 2-1 in pool play, defeating WACO 21-17, 21-13 and Keokuk 21-18, 21-18 before losing to Holy Trinity.
Central Lee lost all three of its matches, falling to Mediapolis and Columbus in three sets and Danville in two.
HOLY TRINITY STATISTICS
Kills — Adalyn Kruse 20, Kate Pieper 18, Olivia Bendlage 15, Makayla Simpson 15, Kymber Jones 6, Elizabeth Griffin 4, Brynn Denning 1, 
Serving — Griffin 43-43 (7 aces), Bendlage 31-31 (2), Pieper 24-24 (2), Jones 19-20 (7), Kruse 19-22 (3), Denning 11-11 (1), Layne Schmitt 6-7, Faith Ward 1-1
Assists — Griffin 64, Denning 5.
Digs — Denning 35, Griffin 24, Bendlage 23, Kruse 20, Simpson 6, Pieper 7, Jones 4, Schmitt 1
Blocks — Pieper 7, Simpson 2, Kruse 2, Griffin 2, Bendlage 1.