John Bohnenkamp for Pen City Current Sports
CORALVILLE — The crucible of the state volleyball tournament magnifies every little error, and every big hit.
Holy Trinity’s 25-20, 14-25, 25-14, 25-22 loss to Gladbrook-Reinbeck in Tuesday’s Class 1A quarterfinal at Xtream Arena was a lesson for the Crusaders, who had rallied in the closing weeks of the season to get to this spot but couldn’t find a way to stick around for a while.
“We fought for every freaking point tonight, and we came up short,” junior hitter Mary Kate Bendlage said.
“Every year, it’s going to be tough here, and it was, as usual,” Holy Trinity coach Melissa Freesmeier said.
The Crusaders (29-16), the sixth seed in the 1A bracket, were built from the resilience that surged in a 22-8 run to end the season after a 7-7 start. Wins over WACO in the regional semifinal and Notre Dame in the regional final were built on momentum and with adjustments to what was coming at them.
And when they won the second set of this match, it looked like they would do it again.
The Crusaders, unlike their last two regional wins, let the momentum get away.
“I thought we really played our game in the second set,” freshman middle hitter Presley Myers said. “Third and fourth set, we had errors.”
“I think we had a lot of errors, back-to-back errors, and we gave them those points,” senior outside hitter Brooke Mueller said.
“There was a whole momentum change,” Bendlage said, “and we just couldn’t get it back.”
The Rebels (33-9), who advanced to play seventh seed AGWSR (19-23) in Wednesday’s semifinal, were carried by the power of senior Ava Wyatt, whose 24 kills sapped the energy from the Crusaders.
“She was a great player,” Bendlage said. “She could see the block, she could see the defense. She wasn’t hitting it where we were standing. I think a couple of times she caught us when we weren’t on our toes. Sometimes I think we struggled moving on from those big kills. We let her get two or three in a row before finally stepping up and shutting her down.”
“We couldn’t get that block on her, we couldn’t dig it,” Myers said.
“(Wyatt) just kept going over us,” Freesmeier said. “She was going over our block. She’s a sensational athlete.”
The final set was tied at 21 when Wyatt had back-to-back kills. Myers kept the Crusaders alive with her own kill, then Wyatt’s next kill put the Rebels up 24-22.
There was no question who they would go to next. Wyatt’s first kill attempt was blocked. On the next set, she sent the ball down through the Crusaders’ defense, and Holy Trinity’s season was over.
“We really didn’t play our game,” Myers said. “We fought, we wanted to win. But, I think with a few less errors, working as a team a little better, we could have done it.”
“It’s always great to get up here, but it’s always sad to see your season end,” Freesmeier said.
“No one here is bad,” Bendlage said. “These are the top eight teams. Those small mistakes, we have to eliminate next year and work harder.”
The Crusaders lose four seniors — Mueller, Kayla Box, Alexa Dingman and Laura Mehmert.
“No one really thought we were going to get here, or have the chance to get here,” Mueller said. “Being a part of a team that had so many obstacles that we overcame to get to the state tournament, it was amazing, especially with it being my senior year.”
“We’ll miss them,” Freesmeier said. “To replace them will be tough.”
Bendlage knew what she took away from this season.
“I think it really shows how far this team has come and what we’re capable of doing,” she said. “It got cut short, but every season does.”
HOLY TRINITY
Kills — Presley Myers 12, Mary Kate Bendlage 10, Kayla Box 6, Brooke Mueller 4, Taegan Denning 2, Anna Bendlage 1.
Assists — Anna Bendlage 29, Mueller 3, Mary Kate Bendlage 1.
Aces — Mueller 4, Laura Mehmert 2, Mary Kate Bendlage 2, Box 1, Anna Bendlage 1.
Digs — Mueller 18, Mary Kate Bendlage 14, Teagan Snaadt 10, Taegan Denning 6, Anna Bendlage 3, Box 1.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here