FORT MADISON - Holy Trinity’s volleyball team continues to apply the lessons learned from early in the season.
Thursday’s 25-12, 25-20, 25-23 sweep of Notre Dame at Shottenkirk Gym solidified the Crusaders’ hold on the SEI Superconference South Division lead heading into the final week of divisional matches, but it required some perseverance in the third set.
Holy Trinity led 17-12 at one point in the set, but trailed 23-21 with Notre Dame serving.
It’s a scenario the Crusaders have faced before this season.
“I told them after that last timeout, ‘We've been here, we've been in this situation, one (point) at a time, let's go get it,’” Holy Trinity coach Melissa Freesmeier said. “And they did. They dug in, and we got it done tonight in three, and that was a big match for us.”
The Crusaders (19-5 overall, 5-0 division) now hold the tiebreaker over every divisional contender heading into next week’s matches against Van Buren County and Central Lee.
“It would be great (to win the division),” Freesmeier said. “It’s tough to win this division.”
“I think it was a pretty big win for all of us,” sophomore Elizabeth Griffin said.
The Crusaders controlled the first set and pulled away to win the second set. That momentum carried over until the Nikes (18-10, 4-2) rallied, helped by some serving troubles for Holy Trinity.
“I think in the third game, we had a bunch of those missed serves back to back,” senior Anna Bendlage said. “We got ahead by rallying out the points, and we were just giving them all the points there at the end.”
“Set three, a lot of mistakes on our end,” Freesmeier said. “Shouldn’t have happened, but we overcame it. We stayed in the match, stayed in the set, and we were able to pull it off.”
“I think it was our energy,” Griffin said. “That's all we needed, just to bring it up.”
Adalyn Kruse’s kill got the ball back for the Crusaders. A hitting error by the Nikes tied the set at 23, then Holy Trinity got to match point on Presley Myers’ ace serve. Kruse’s kill, her team-leading 14th of the night, then clinched the win.
“Anna decided at the end of the game she was going to go to Adalyn three times in a row and Adalyn just kept hammering it, and she got that final kill,” Freesmeier said.
“I just knew that even in close games like that, she'll still swing away,” Bendlage said. “She's not afraid. She'll still take those risky shots, and that's why I just kept sending her back to back.”
It’s just part of the efficiency of the Crusaders’ offense, which has players in new roles.
Griffin, in her first year as a varsity starter, has settled in working with Bendlage. Bendlage had 16 assists in the match, and Griffin had 12.
“I think we've worked really well all season,” Bendlage said. “But I think as we keep going, it just keeps getting better and better.”
“I just think it came naturally,” Griffin said.
“You know, they're feeding off each other,” Freesmeier said. “They're talking about things with our hitters, too. You can just see they're learning more and more each day, and they'll come into practice tomorrow, and learn a lot more.”
The Crusaders kept their momentum from last week, when they won their own tournament, and then swept through the conference tournament’s pool play and final three rounds.
“Last week was a big week for us,” Freesmeier said. “And we want that to carry over.”
HOLY TRINITY STATISTICS
Kills — Adalyn Kruse 14, Presley Myers 13, Olivia Bendlage 3, Anna Bendlage 3, Elizabeth Griffin 2.
Assists — A.Bendlage 16, Griffin 12, Teagan Snaadt 3, O.Bendlage 1.
Serving — O. Bendlage 17-18 (3 aces), A.Bendlage 14-15 (1), Myers 13-14 (4), Griffin 8-9, Snaadt 6-8 (1), Kruse 5-9 (1).
Digs — Kruse 12, Snaadt 9, O.Bendlage 9, Myers 9, A.Bendlage 5, Griffin 4, Emma Mohrfeld 2
Blocks — Myers 3, Kruse 1, Griffin 1, O.Bendlage 1, Mohrfeld 1, A.Bendlage 1
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