Coach Carr's teams now have won five hundred games.
500.
D, as the Romans would write.
And that doesn't include all the JV wins.
I don't know how many other volleyball coaches have won 500 games in Indiana. Probably not very many. Sustained excellence is very difficult to achieve. And even though the schedule was upgraded dramatically the last couple of years, she is piling up victories as fast as she ever was. Last year was her best year for winning percentage in her career, and the schedule was the toughest the team has ever played. This year it's even tougher and so far the team has a higher winning percentage than even last year. Obviously this wouldn't be happening if she didn't have the players. Of course, if she wasn't such a good coach, these players might not want to play for her.
How did the game go that got her there, you ask? Well, let me tell you. The opponent was Bishop Noll, an IHSAA school that we have not played before. They are not a great team, but like most public/Catholic schools we've played, are pretty good. On Monday, though the girls had to overcome the hangover from playing so many games this past weekend plus some unfavorable line judging. Despite all that the girls were victorious, winning 25-20, 25-17, 25-17.
The girls started slowly in the first game. After falling behind 4-2, the Patriots scored three in a row, the last on a Taylor ace. They fell behind again, but thankfully they were able stay close due to a lot of Noll service errors. Still, after a dink kill they trailed 10-7. Another three point run tied it up, and then after a Noll point, the girls scored three more on yet another Noll serving error and kills from Taylor and Rebekah to take a two point lead. The lead stayed at one or two points until a Noll net violation and a nice Holly/Ally block put CCS up 18-14. The team gradually pushed up the lead to as many as six before a BIG Faith kill closed out game one.
Game two saw the girls jump out to the early lead at 5-1 before a series of unforced errors by the Patriots let Noll right back into it. A string of five errors gave Noll a 7-5 lead. A bit later a Noll ace pushed the lead to 12-8. After Noll committed their seventh serve error, a block by Taylor and Lauren seemed to spark the team. CCS eventually got the lead, but only lead by one after a Noll kill at 17-16, but from this point, Calumet outscored Noll 8-1 down the stretch. Faith had four kills in this sequence. Taylor also had a kill, and the last point was scored on an Ally ace.
The Patriots had the lead through most of game three, trailing only at 6-5 and 7-6. Faith started dinking to the open spot and soon Calumet led 10-7. Noll caught us again at 11, but then five straight points, highlighted by a nice block by Taylor and a couple of Ally aces, put CCS in control of the game. Noll did score the next three, but Calumet never trailed by less than two after that. At 18-16, a kill by Faith and an ace by Lauren gave the Patriots a cushion, and they rolled from their, scoring the last five points - Faith kill, Ally block, Faith kill, Lauren ace, and finally a Noll mishit on a spike and the game and Coach's milestone was in the books.
Now only 570 wins to catch Steve Shondell.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
A power rises in the west....
Finally, some non-IHSAA competition. Yes, the Patriots three-peated as Calumet Invitational champs, but it wasn't easy. Well, except for some lateness-induced struggle in our first game Saturday and until the final, it was pretty easy. In what turned out to be an incredibly entertaining final match, the Patriots retained the trophy with a 25-18, 20-25, 15-13 victory over the Crossroads Crusaders, a home-school team from the far western Chicago suburbs. More on that later.
As has been the case in the previous two Calumet Invitationals, CCS swept through pool play. This year it seemed even easier that it has been. The girls didn't have to concentrate much to beat their first four opponents. Their fifth, Indy Silver Lightning, had been very successful from what I gathered, beating some teams with winning records. So the girls dialed up the intensity for that one, and it wasn't close.
The first opponent was Crosspointe, a perennially weak team from Indianapolis. That hasn't changed. Taylor had five aces in the first eight points, all scored by Calumet. At 9-0, Crosspoint scored their first two points, then it was spiking practice. A Crosspointe serve into the net mercifully ended game one, 21-6. I wasn't paying as close attention in game two; other stuff was going on and it wasn't really necessary for me to focus on the game. Apparently the girls didn't think it was that important either, as they gave up more points that probably they should have, but the outcome was never in doubt. 21-11, CCS.
Opponent #2 was a new team to the tournament, a home school team called the Noblesville Lions from Noblesville, Indiana. They had nice uniforms. (I'm looking for positive things to say.) Seriously, they had one decent player, Juli Hall, but not much after that. They scored the first point of the first game, then CCS scored ten in a row. We had a lot of kills and they made a lot of mistakes. Taylor's dink found the floor to end a 21-5 cruise. Focus was completely lost in the second game. Noblesville led 7-4 at one point, or should I say CCS trailed 7-4, because most of Noblesville's points came from our errors. The Ally started serving and Noblesville started avoiding returning it. We led 10-9 when Taylor started hitting it. The game ended on back-to-back Taylor aces, 21-11.
First Baptist of Danville was the 4:30 opponent. More of the same. FBD did have a nice middle hitter, but not much else. The girls, at about three-quarter speed, had a pretty easy go of it. Again a slow start, but then again a strong middle and end. The Patriots only led 7-5 when, after a FBD serving error, the girls played crisply, and that usually means kills. Ally scored two, then Taylor got one. Faith aced a serve and the game was in hand. The girls finished strong with a Lauren block, Faith's first really big kill of the day, and then a Lauren ace. Game two saw our first LGFS. The Patriots powered out to a 19-3 behind kills from everyone - Rebekah, Faith, Lauren, Taylor, Holly and Jenna all joined in the fun. Then FBD scored eight straight points, mostly because of our errors, before they missed on a spike. 21-11 was the final after Katie nailed the game down with an ace.
Heritage Hall was our after-dinner foe. They were good back in the days of the Luke girls, less so now. We should have beaten them as we did the opponents earlier in the day, but we made a lot of errors, hitting, serving and defensive,. At 15-11 the girls picked up their play a little and scored six of the last seven points with a kill from Faith on an over pass the final point in the 21-12 win. The girls were a little more consistent in game two - not much more focused, but they maintained the same level of disinterestedness throughout the set. The lead grew gradually throughout until at 20-12, Amanda got a the clinching point on a kill.
We thought that the Indy Silver Lightning would be our toughest competition, from what we knew about their scores and from their 6-0 pool record. This was not a good thing for Indy. CCS came out ready to play in their final pool match. Kill, Lauren. Kill, Faith, Error, ISL, Kill Faith. Error ISL. Block, Lauren and Faith. 6-0, Patriots. Later, after three ISL points in a row, the girls put together another strong streak, made up of aces, blocks and kills. Taylor put one down, then ISL went into the net and the 21-10 first game win was complete. ISL really had no chance in the second. They were discouraged and seemed to have lost the ability to returns serves. CCS had eight aces in the 21-5 Patriot win.
Saturday morning was nice sleep-in morning for the girls. With the new gold/silver division format, the first game for the top seed from the blue pool was scheduled for 1:15. Apparently some took too much advantage. A couple of girls were late, sisters coincidentally, so they were not in the starting lineup for our first bracket play game. The opponent was WMCAA, who had played and won earlier in the day (Calumet had a bye). They were warmed up and ready to play. Our girls were a little disoriented without two starters on the floor. The game was tied at 10-10 when we started making a lot of defensive errors. WMCAA scored seven in a row when coach subbed the starters back in, just in time it seemed. WMCAA scored one more to make it 18-10. Faith pounded a few, Taylor aced a few more and we had eleven in a row and a three-point lead. A hitting error and two defensive lapses by the Patriots, plus a kill gave WMCAA a one-point lead. That was enough for Faith, and three kills out of the last four points helped CCS squeak out a 25-23 win. The Patriots made up for lost time in game, two, hitting (everyone), blocking(Holly especially) and acing (mostly Taylor) at a high rate. A Holly kill, a Lauren block and a Taylor kill were the final three points of the 25-8 win.
The Arthur Christian team was the semi-final opponent, a team with some talent but not much depth. Their star was tall middle hitter with some ability. We seemed to play at a level good enough to stay ahead but not pull away, at least until it was 17-13. Then Holly put one down, Ally followed, then it was Holly's turn again. Arthur got a kill, but Faith followed a kill with two aces. Ally got the last point in the 25-14 win on a dink. The Patriots established themselves early in game two, leading 5-1, 11-3, and 18-8. Amanda got a kill in there, and Katie scorched two aces and a kill. Faith got her share, and Holly and Ally got a block. After a CCS hitting error, Arthur served into the net and CCS was in the final, winning 25-12.
Crossroads also had not lost a game, but they had been tested a little more. I'm not sure if they played below their ability (probably), or their competition was stronger (not likely), but they were all that we could handle in the championship match. I didn't think anyone could match our defense, but they did. The fact that we were deeper offensively offset their great hitting from their setter on second touches. On to the games. We started slowly, trailing 3-0. CCS got a couple back with a Crossroads serving error and a Faith kill. At 6-5 Crossroads, the Patriots went on a little tear, outscoring Crossroads 8-1 mostly on dinks and Faith aces. The game was full of great defensive plays. I only note how points are scored, so the great defensive plays are often neglected. Faith's defense was so phenomenal in this game that I have to mention it. Time after time, she came flying from nowhere to make a great save. On one play at 13-9, she made a great dig and her momentum carried her well off the court. The next hit was popped up, and Faith leaped to her feet and, moving away from the net, got her hands on the ball and punched it back over her head into Crossroad's court. (CCS ended up taking that point on a hitting error.) That was one example of her stellar defensive play. From this point Calumet kept the lead about seven until Crossroads tried to tip up a ball at the net and were called for a lift. 25-18, Patriots.
Game two saw a first for us. We seemed to lose composure. To start the game, the Patriots made a lot of errors, but played well enough offensively to trail only 7-5. After that, however, the girls fell apart. Equally from our errors, their hits and their blocks, the went on a 12-3 run and lead 19-8. Faith ended that streak with a couple of kills but we gave them right back on errors. Another Faith kill, a lift on a Crossroads set and a big block from Faith and Holly followed. One more error by CCS (22-13) was followed by another Faith kill and a block from Holly and Taylor. Two Crossroads hitting errors ensued, then a Holly kill made it a four-point game. They crushed on which Taylor answered with a dink. We followed that with a hitting error, putting Crossroads one point away. Lauren got a kill, but we couldn't dig up a dink from Crossroads and they got the second game 25-20.
Game three was strange it its own way. This time we started out strong - well, Crossroads started out weak, with a service error, hitting error and a net violation around a Taylor ace and the lead was 4-0. We had a service receive error, then the craziness began. There was furious flurry at the net, which the ref ruled, I think, as an out ball last touched by Calumet. That didn't seem to be what actually happened, but hey, he's the ref. Then the line judge came and talked to the ref, but nothing was changed. What did change was the momentum. We seemed to be a little confused and gave up two more points on errors. Faith put things aright with a kill which they matched. Another by Faith was followed by a CCS serving error. They lifted the ball on a block attempt. They seemed to do the same on the next point, but no lift was called, the play went on, and finally a spike attempt by CCS went into the net. They then had a big block, we made a defensive error and we trailed 9-7. Coach Carr called a timeout. We responded kill Taylor, kill Ally, kill Taylor. Timeout, Crossroads. We went into the net, they served into the the net. Katie then got a kill, then Lauren did the same. We messed up a serve, they went into the net. 14-11, Patriots. We then, showing our fatigue, spiked one into the net and then botched a dig. 14-13. Faith then came up big as she often has. A spike found a hole in the block, hit the ground, and Calumet was champion again.
The awards were as follows:
Second team all tourney:
As has been the case in the previous two Calumet Invitationals, CCS swept through pool play. This year it seemed even easier that it has been. The girls didn't have to concentrate much to beat their first four opponents. Their fifth, Indy Silver Lightning, had been very successful from what I gathered, beating some teams with winning records. So the girls dialed up the intensity for that one, and it wasn't close.
The first opponent was Crosspointe, a perennially weak team from Indianapolis. That hasn't changed. Taylor had five aces in the first eight points, all scored by Calumet. At 9-0, Crosspoint scored their first two points, then it was spiking practice. A Crosspointe serve into the net mercifully ended game one, 21-6. I wasn't paying as close attention in game two; other stuff was going on and it wasn't really necessary for me to focus on the game. Apparently the girls didn't think it was that important either, as they gave up more points that probably they should have, but the outcome was never in doubt. 21-11, CCS.
Opponent #2 was a new team to the tournament, a home school team called the Noblesville Lions from Noblesville, Indiana. They had nice uniforms. (I'm looking for positive things to say.) Seriously, they had one decent player, Juli Hall, but not much after that. They scored the first point of the first game, then CCS scored ten in a row. We had a lot of kills and they made a lot of mistakes. Taylor's dink found the floor to end a 21-5 cruise. Focus was completely lost in the second game. Noblesville led 7-4 at one point, or should I say CCS trailed 7-4, because most of Noblesville's points came from our errors. The Ally started serving and Noblesville started avoiding returning it. We led 10-9 when Taylor started hitting it. The game ended on back-to-back Taylor aces, 21-11.
First Baptist of Danville was the 4:30 opponent. More of the same. FBD did have a nice middle hitter, but not much else. The girls, at about three-quarter speed, had a pretty easy go of it. Again a slow start, but then again a strong middle and end. The Patriots only led 7-5 when, after a FBD serving error, the girls played crisply, and that usually means kills. Ally scored two, then Taylor got one. Faith aced a serve and the game was in hand. The girls finished strong with a Lauren block, Faith's first really big kill of the day, and then a Lauren ace. Game two saw our first LGFS. The Patriots powered out to a 19-3 behind kills from everyone - Rebekah, Faith, Lauren, Taylor, Holly and Jenna all joined in the fun. Then FBD scored eight straight points, mostly because of our errors, before they missed on a spike. 21-11 was the final after Katie nailed the game down with an ace.
Heritage Hall was our after-dinner foe. They were good back in the days of the Luke girls, less so now. We should have beaten them as we did the opponents earlier in the day, but we made a lot of errors, hitting, serving and defensive,. At 15-11 the girls picked up their play a little and scored six of the last seven points with a kill from Faith on an over pass the final point in the 21-12 win. The girls were a little more consistent in game two - not much more focused, but they maintained the same level of disinterestedness throughout the set. The lead grew gradually throughout until at 20-12, Amanda got a the clinching point on a kill.
We thought that the Indy Silver Lightning would be our toughest competition, from what we knew about their scores and from their 6-0 pool record. This was not a good thing for Indy. CCS came out ready to play in their final pool match. Kill, Lauren. Kill, Faith, Error, ISL, Kill Faith. Error ISL. Block, Lauren and Faith. 6-0, Patriots. Later, after three ISL points in a row, the girls put together another strong streak, made up of aces, blocks and kills. Taylor put one down, then ISL went into the net and the 21-10 first game win was complete. ISL really had no chance in the second. They were discouraged and seemed to have lost the ability to returns serves. CCS had eight aces in the 21-5 Patriot win.
Saturday morning was nice sleep-in morning for the girls. With the new gold/silver division format, the first game for the top seed from the blue pool was scheduled for 1:15. Apparently some took too much advantage. A couple of girls were late, sisters coincidentally, so they were not in the starting lineup for our first bracket play game. The opponent was WMCAA, who had played and won earlier in the day (Calumet had a bye). They were warmed up and ready to play. Our girls were a little disoriented without two starters on the floor. The game was tied at 10-10 when we started making a lot of defensive errors. WMCAA scored seven in a row when coach subbed the starters back in, just in time it seemed. WMCAA scored one more to make it 18-10. Faith pounded a few, Taylor aced a few more and we had eleven in a row and a three-point lead. A hitting error and two defensive lapses by the Patriots, plus a kill gave WMCAA a one-point lead. That was enough for Faith, and three kills out of the last four points helped CCS squeak out a 25-23 win. The Patriots made up for lost time in game, two, hitting (everyone), blocking(Holly especially) and acing (mostly Taylor) at a high rate. A Holly kill, a Lauren block and a Taylor kill were the final three points of the 25-8 win.
The Arthur Christian team was the semi-final opponent, a team with some talent but not much depth. Their star was tall middle hitter with some ability. We seemed to play at a level good enough to stay ahead but not pull away, at least until it was 17-13. Then Holly put one down, Ally followed, then it was Holly's turn again. Arthur got a kill, but Faith followed a kill with two aces. Ally got the last point in the 25-14 win on a dink. The Patriots established themselves early in game two, leading 5-1, 11-3, and 18-8. Amanda got a kill in there, and Katie scorched two aces and a kill. Faith got her share, and Holly and Ally got a block. After a CCS hitting error, Arthur served into the net and CCS was in the final, winning 25-12.
Crossroads also had not lost a game, but they had been tested a little more. I'm not sure if they played below their ability (probably), or their competition was stronger (not likely), but they were all that we could handle in the championship match. I didn't think anyone could match our defense, but they did. The fact that we were deeper offensively offset their great hitting from their setter on second touches. On to the games. We started slowly, trailing 3-0. CCS got a couple back with a Crossroads serving error and a Faith kill. At 6-5 Crossroads, the Patriots went on a little tear, outscoring Crossroads 8-1 mostly on dinks and Faith aces. The game was full of great defensive plays. I only note how points are scored, so the great defensive plays are often neglected. Faith's defense was so phenomenal in this game that I have to mention it. Time after time, she came flying from nowhere to make a great save. On one play at 13-9, she made a great dig and her momentum carried her well off the court. The next hit was popped up, and Faith leaped to her feet and, moving away from the net, got her hands on the ball and punched it back over her head into Crossroad's court. (CCS ended up taking that point on a hitting error.) That was one example of her stellar defensive play. From this point Calumet kept the lead about seven until Crossroads tried to tip up a ball at the net and were called for a lift. 25-18, Patriots.
Game two saw a first for us. We seemed to lose composure. To start the game, the Patriots made a lot of errors, but played well enough offensively to trail only 7-5. After that, however, the girls fell apart. Equally from our errors, their hits and their blocks, the went on a 12-3 run and lead 19-8. Faith ended that streak with a couple of kills but we gave them right back on errors. Another Faith kill, a lift on a Crossroads set and a big block from Faith and Holly followed. One more error by CCS (22-13) was followed by another Faith kill and a block from Holly and Taylor. Two Crossroads hitting errors ensued, then a Holly kill made it a four-point game. They crushed on which Taylor answered with a dink. We followed that with a hitting error, putting Crossroads one point away. Lauren got a kill, but we couldn't dig up a dink from Crossroads and they got the second game 25-20.
Game three was strange it its own way. This time we started out strong - well, Crossroads started out weak, with a service error, hitting error and a net violation around a Taylor ace and the lead was 4-0. We had a service receive error, then the craziness began. There was furious flurry at the net, which the ref ruled, I think, as an out ball last touched by Calumet. That didn't seem to be what actually happened, but hey, he's the ref. Then the line judge came and talked to the ref, but nothing was changed. What did change was the momentum. We seemed to be a little confused and gave up two more points on errors. Faith put things aright with a kill which they matched. Another by Faith was followed by a CCS serving error. They lifted the ball on a block attempt. They seemed to do the same on the next point, but no lift was called, the play went on, and finally a spike attempt by CCS went into the net. They then had a big block, we made a defensive error and we trailed 9-7. Coach Carr called a timeout. We responded kill Taylor, kill Ally, kill Taylor. Timeout, Crossroads. We went into the net, they served into the the net. Katie then got a kill, then Lauren did the same. We messed up a serve, they went into the net. 14-11, Patriots. We then, showing our fatigue, spiked one into the net and then botched a dig. 14-13. Faith then came up big as she often has. A spike found a hole in the block, hit the ground, and Calumet was champion again.
The awards were as follows:
Second team all tourney:
- Juli Hall, Noblesville
- Paetyn Cummings, Schaumburg
- Meagan Isola, Schaumburg
- Emma Surface, Indy Silver Lightning
- Carrie Power, Grace
- Jessica Greer, First Baptist of Danville
- Whitney Stieglitz, Fort Wayne Falcons
- Caitlyn Bruinsma, Heritage Christian
- Ally Rohn, Calumet Christian
- Annika Albrecht, Crossroads
- Hannah Matillano, Quentin Road
- Taylor Lindbloom, Calumet Christian
- Savannah Atsma, WMCAA
- Meghan Lowry, Arthur Okaw
- Faith Rohn
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Short entry for a nondescript game
Yes, I have another word to describe a bad game! Nondescript! Not sure if it really fits well, but it's kind of long! I don't think I've used this many exclamation points to end sentences in a row ever!
Enough silliness. Nondescript is a pretty apt term for last nights snooze fest. Per Dictionary.com, the definition is: "Adjective: Lacking distinctive or interesting features or characteristics." The game certainly was lacking. And to think that this was a measuring stick for our team five years ago, and the turning point of our season four years ago. In 2006, Rachel Kizer's senior season, Calumet beat Westville in five tough games. At that time, Westville was the only public school on the schedule, and so it was really the only way for us to know how we might fare in the IHSAA realm. Westville was very tall and, if I remember correctly, better than .500, so beating them was an accomplishment. The next year, the team started the season off very slowly, and had a losing record (4-6) when we faced Westville. We ended up losing that game in five, but we played very well and that seemed to be what turned around our season. But now, for the last three years, the games with Westville have been such that, if they weren't a public IHSAA school, we would probably send our JV to play them. The scores tonight, 25-7, 25-16, and 25-12 really weren't an indication of how thoroughly Calumet dominated. The girls played their usual rotations in the first game. In between a slow start and a LGFS finish, the Patriots outscored the Blackhawks 18-2. Games two and three saw liberal substitutions and position switches (Faith set most of those two games), so the games were a bit closer.
The varsity tournament is this weekend at the Lincoln Center. We are the two-time defending champions and hope to defend the title. First Calumet game is at 12:45. See you there.
Enough silliness. Nondescript is a pretty apt term for last nights snooze fest. Per Dictionary.com, the definition is: "Adjective: Lacking distinctive or interesting features or characteristics." The game certainly was lacking. And to think that this was a measuring stick for our team five years ago, and the turning point of our season four years ago. In 2006, Rachel Kizer's senior season, Calumet beat Westville in five tough games. At that time, Westville was the only public school on the schedule, and so it was really the only way for us to know how we might fare in the IHSAA realm. Westville was very tall and, if I remember correctly, better than .500, so beating them was an accomplishment. The next year, the team started the season off very slowly, and had a losing record (4-6) when we faced Westville. We ended up losing that game in five, but we played very well and that seemed to be what turned around our season. But now, for the last three years, the games with Westville have been such that, if they weren't a public IHSAA school, we would probably send our JV to play them. The scores tonight, 25-7, 25-16, and 25-12 really weren't an indication of how thoroughly Calumet dominated. The girls played their usual rotations in the first game. In between a slow start and a LGFS finish, the Patriots outscored the Blackhawks 18-2. Games two and three saw liberal substitutions and position switches (Faith set most of those two games), so the games were a bit closer.
The varsity tournament is this weekend at the Lincoln Center. We are the two-time defending champions and hope to defend the title. First Calumet game is at 12:45. See you there.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
I guess I didn't miss much
And if I had skipped last night's games, I still probably wouldn't have missed much.
How the mighty have fallen.
I referred in an earlier post to a 31-29 loss in fourth game of the state final to Faith in 2009. At one point in that season we were 43-2, with our only two losses to Faith. In 2007, Clinton Christian finished in the top four of our tournament. The teams we played tonight were NOT those teams.
Quick recap of the week's earlier games: two no-contests, with walk-overs against Covenant Christian, 25-11, 25-12, 25-16 and Hebron, 25-6. 25-11, 25-15, with liberal substitutions and position-switching. We kind of expected that against Covenant, but Hebron had taken one game in our match last year, so we were expecting a little more out of them.
Last night we started off against Clinton Christian, a Mennonite school out of Goshen. As I mentioned, they historically have been a pretty strong program. I have no idea what happened to them. Even as recently as two years ago, they took us to 28-26 in one game (albeit in a three-game sweep). This year's edition complemented a complete lack of ability to hit with horrible setting and mediocre defense. I counted two kills the entire match for Clinton and both might have been called defensive errors on us. The scoreboard operators did their best to help Clinton, giving them one of our points, but even with that the final of game one 25-9. After a bumpy start, we settled down and at one point, ran off thirteen straight points (even though the scoreboard operator disagreed with me). We made a few errors toward the end, but still finished with the decisive victory. We had the same kind of start in game two, leading only 4-3 at one point. Jenna, who doesn't usually serve, started doing her Taylor/Faith impersonation, scoring three aces out of six points. CCS ran off nine in a row, traded points to 15-5, then ran off ten more to finish the game. In that stretch were three aces by Katie, a kill by Kassie, a kill by Holly and two by Ally. The third game was goof-around time. Faith had a few kills early, then took over setting responsibilities. Top performers in the game included Kassie, who contributed two aces and a kill; Taylor, with three or four kills; and Holly, with a couple kills and an ace. Final was 25-12.
Faith gave us a decent game last year, scoring 13, 15, and 18. The started four seniors, so they had some experience. However, they too had little offense and even with significantly better setting and defense than Clinton, were no match for the Patriots. A little aside here: I wonder how many teams like Faith that we play say to themselves, We're close. If we clean up this, or improve that, we could play with CCS. Those of us who have witnessed enough games and know that the girls often play to the level of their competition would respond with, You should have seen them play Andrean/Loogootee/Kankakee Valley/Crown Point. You're not close. Back to the match. The girls seemed to have a little Clinton hangover to start. We made some really uncharacteristic errors which led to a 6-2 Faith lead. As has often happened, the momentum changer was a nice Faith kill. Lauren, whose serves are beginning to resemble Taylor's, score two aces around a Faith out-of-rotation (another aside, the down ref's mission in life seemed to be to call every early switch - he called at least four of those in the match) to tie it up. FCS scored two (including an OOR call on us) before the Patriots took command. They scored eleven of the next twelve points to make it a 17-9 game. In that stretch Holly had a nice block to go with the various kills and aces. FCS scored two again, but that was the last time they scored two in a row. Holly contributed a dink kill and an ace, Ally had a couple of aces, and Taylor finished off the game one 25-13 victory with a smash.
Our girls got the early lead in game two, 3-0, but FCS tied it up quickly on our errors, then took the lead on a dink kill. Lauren stopped that run with a kill, and Taylor followed it up with two aces. Faith then scored two kills and the game was in hand. Faith kept the lead at only five until at 14-9, CCS scored five in a row with Faith's great jump serves and timely hitting by Holly, and put the game out of reach. The lead stayed around ten until the end, which was scored on another Jenna ace. 25-15, CCS. The Patriots established themselves early in game three. Faith and Lauren started out the hitting, then Taylor picked it up, followed by Holly firing aces. After a Lauren block, who played excellent defense at the net all night, the lead was 16-4. The girls completely lost focus (they started GAT in other words - that's goof-around time - we need another acronym), allowing Faith to score six in a row, making the score 21-15. They then committed a service error, which seemed to get our girls back on track. Taylor followed that up with a nice block, FCS couldn't handle a Faith jump serve, and it was in hand. 25-16 was the final in game three.
We are now 22-1 on the season. The Patriots have won 55 games while losing 6, and have scored 1477 points while giving up 976. Last year after 23 matches we were 20-3, winning 52 games, losing 10. Westville is on the agenda for next Tuesday, a team we have easily defeated the last two years, but who have new coach that Coach Carr is familiar with, and that may make a difference for them, but after checking their record, that may not occur for a while. We then have opportunity to stretch our Calumet Invitational championship streak to three. I am really looking forward to that.
How the mighty have fallen.
I referred in an earlier post to a 31-29 loss in fourth game of the state final to Faith in 2009. At one point in that season we were 43-2, with our only two losses to Faith. In 2007, Clinton Christian finished in the top four of our tournament. The teams we played tonight were NOT those teams.
Quick recap of the week's earlier games: two no-contests, with walk-overs against Covenant Christian, 25-11, 25-12, 25-16 and Hebron, 25-6. 25-11, 25-15, with liberal substitutions and position-switching. We kind of expected that against Covenant, but Hebron had taken one game in our match last year, so we were expecting a little more out of them.
Last night we started off against Clinton Christian, a Mennonite school out of Goshen. As I mentioned, they historically have been a pretty strong program. I have no idea what happened to them. Even as recently as two years ago, they took us to 28-26 in one game (albeit in a three-game sweep). This year's edition complemented a complete lack of ability to hit with horrible setting and mediocre defense. I counted two kills the entire match for Clinton and both might have been called defensive errors on us. The scoreboard operators did their best to help Clinton, giving them one of our points, but even with that the final of game one 25-9. After a bumpy start, we settled down and at one point, ran off thirteen straight points (even though the scoreboard operator disagreed with me). We made a few errors toward the end, but still finished with the decisive victory. We had the same kind of start in game two, leading only 4-3 at one point. Jenna, who doesn't usually serve, started doing her Taylor/Faith impersonation, scoring three aces out of six points. CCS ran off nine in a row, traded points to 15-5, then ran off ten more to finish the game. In that stretch were three aces by Katie, a kill by Kassie, a kill by Holly and two by Ally. The third game was goof-around time. Faith had a few kills early, then took over setting responsibilities. Top performers in the game included Kassie, who contributed two aces and a kill; Taylor, with three or four kills; and Holly, with a couple kills and an ace. Final was 25-12.
Faith gave us a decent game last year, scoring 13, 15, and 18. The started four seniors, so they had some experience. However, they too had little offense and even with significantly better setting and defense than Clinton, were no match for the Patriots. A little aside here: I wonder how many teams like Faith that we play say to themselves, We're close. If we clean up this, or improve that, we could play with CCS. Those of us who have witnessed enough games and know that the girls often play to the level of their competition would respond with, You should have seen them play Andrean/Loogootee/Kankakee Valley/Crown Point. You're not close. Back to the match. The girls seemed to have a little Clinton hangover to start. We made some really uncharacteristic errors which led to a 6-2 Faith lead. As has often happened, the momentum changer was a nice Faith kill. Lauren, whose serves are beginning to resemble Taylor's, score two aces around a Faith out-of-rotation (another aside, the down ref's mission in life seemed to be to call every early switch - he called at least four of those in the match) to tie it up. FCS scored two (including an OOR call on us) before the Patriots took command. They scored eleven of the next twelve points to make it a 17-9 game. In that stretch Holly had a nice block to go with the various kills and aces. FCS scored two again, but that was the last time they scored two in a row. Holly contributed a dink kill and an ace, Ally had a couple of aces, and Taylor finished off the game one 25-13 victory with a smash.
Our girls got the early lead in game two, 3-0, but FCS tied it up quickly on our errors, then took the lead on a dink kill. Lauren stopped that run with a kill, and Taylor followed it up with two aces. Faith then scored two kills and the game was in hand. Faith kept the lead at only five until at 14-9, CCS scored five in a row with Faith's great jump serves and timely hitting by Holly, and put the game out of reach. The lead stayed around ten until the end, which was scored on another Jenna ace. 25-15, CCS. The Patriots established themselves early in game three. Faith and Lauren started out the hitting, then Taylor picked it up, followed by Holly firing aces. After a Lauren block, who played excellent defense at the net all night, the lead was 16-4. The girls completely lost focus (they started GAT in other words - that's goof-around time - we need another acronym), allowing Faith to score six in a row, making the score 21-15. They then committed a service error, which seemed to get our girls back on track. Taylor followed that up with a nice block, FCS couldn't handle a Faith jump serve, and it was in hand. 25-16 was the final in game three.
We are now 22-1 on the season. The Patriots have won 55 games while losing 6, and have scored 1477 points while giving up 976. Last year after 23 matches we were 20-3, winning 52 games, losing 10. Westville is on the agenda for next Tuesday, a team we have easily defeated the last two years, but who have new coach that Coach Carr is familiar with, and that may make a difference for them, but after checking their record, that may not occur for a while. We then have opportunity to stretch our Calumet Invitational championship streak to three. I am really looking forward to that.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Yawn. Another tournament championship.
So we win again. The regularity of the trophy-hoisting might seem to be getting tedious, but it really isn't. Each of these last two tournament victories has been very hard fought, which of course makes the winning even sweeter. This time it was in Terre Haute, Coach was scouring the IHSAA website when she came upon this request for teams to participate in a tournament at Terre Haute South. I did a little research, found out the teams in Terre Haute were pretty good, so she signed up. This was THS's first time hosting a tournament, so they were only able to round up only three other teams - us, TH North, and Crown Point. Three huge schools, two with winning records. I want to note here that, unlike Illinois, the volleyball powerhouses in Indiana are not concentrated in the Chicago area. They are pretty well distributed around the state. The #1 4A team is Avon, from the western suburbs of Indy. Brebeuf, the #1 team in 3A is also from Indy, but the 2A top-ranked team is Muncie Burris and the top 1A team is in Montgomery, IN, roughly half-way between Indy and Evansville. So traveling far from home certainly doesn't mean a drop-off in the competition level - it could even mean the opposite.
Right off, we were matched against TH North. They had only one loss to-date, and looked to be a very tough start for our girls. And it was an 8AM CDT start - a little bit early for the Lady Patriots. Sure enough, before we had settled in our seats, it was 4-0, THN. THN committed two error to which Faith added a kill and it looked like we had awakened. THN was a very strong hitting team, but so are we. The teams traded kills for a while, with some errors thrown in, and it stayed close throughout. A Taylor kill followed by a THN hitting error gave us our first lead at 13-12. Neither team had more than a one point lead until an Ally dink kill and a THN hitting error made it 21-19. Taylor served an ace and Faith dinked one home to make it a four-point game. One more THN kill, then Faith smash, Faith smash, and game one was in the books, 25-20. Game two followed a similar track, at least at first. A Holly ace gave us our first two-point lead at 10-8, and then CCS began to take control. Ally and Faith scored on kills, and then after a dink kill by THN, CCS ran off seven straight, with everyone contributing, including the opponent. They absorbed a minor LGFS, but Ally finished the 25-18 game two win with a kill.
Now it was South. South had a below-.500 record, but had played a pretty tough schedule. We soon found out that they also were a team to be reckoned with. They played extremely good defense and had a solid offense. The scored stayed close in game one until THS scored five in a row. After we were called in the net for the second time in a row to make it 14-9, Coach called a time out. That seemed to work. We crept back in to the game, and after a beautiful Lauren/Ally block and THS hitting error we took our first lead, 21-20. Back and forth it went from there. We led 24-23 after a Taylor ace; they answered with a kill. Faith matched that, but then they came back with one of their own. Holly then put on down, and their next kill attempt was into the net, and we squeaked out the game, 27-25. CCS got their bad play out of the way early in the next game. THS was killing it early and we had no answer. The Braves led 6-1, 7-2, 9-3 and 10-4. Taylor then started turning the tide, with kills sandwiched around a Lauren kill. THS scored one, but then the Patriots really took control, outscoring THS 18-6 the rest of the way. Kills from Faith, Rebekah, Ally and Holly, aces from Taylor and a nice double block by Holly and Ally set up the game winner, a dink by Ally to make the final 25-16.
Our last game was against Crown Point, and it was for the championship. Yes, the team traveled almost 200 miles to play a school that is about 14 miles from Calumet. But it did give us an opportunity to play another public school from our area. CP is a very talented but young team. They had played top-ranked teams tough but had lost to teams they should have beaten. They are tall and very strong offensively. CCS got the early lead and held it for most of the game, but the lead never got above three until Faith hurt one to make it 14-10. A CP hitting error made it a five-point game, and after a CP kill, Holly and Faith combined on a block to put it back to five. We led 18-15 when CP ran off four straight. We scored three to answer and then kept a one or two-point lead until the end. A Faith dinked capped off the 25-23 game one win. Game two started well, with Taylor killing two early, Rebekah with a block and it was 4-2. CP slowly caught up, and a CCS hitting error gave them a 9-8 lead. Ally got that one back on a kill, but CP answered strongly with three kills and a stuff block. From there the story was Calumet errors and CP kills. We fell farther and farther behind, and CP closed it out with a dink, 25-17.
The third game, played to twenty-five, not fifteen, which made Coach Casey happy, was a mirror image of the second game as far as the score trends went. It was tied at 5 when Taylor pounded one. I don't know if CP was tired here or what, but they reeled off three straight hitting errors. They then got their act together enough to score a couple. CCS pushed the lead to five after a Taylor kill and ace, which CP matched with two blocks. Holly and Rebekah returned the favor with a very nice block. We only led by three, 19-16, when they committed a service error, followed by a hitting error. Taylor tattooed one, then Lauren and Rebekah went way up, with perfect timing, and rejected a big CP hit. 23-16 CCS. CP was pretty much done at this point. Ally served an ace. Then, in a fitting finish to a break-out blocking game for our girls, Lauren made like a wall and rejected CP's last hit. 25-16, CCS. Championship #2 on the season.
Look, a video!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
What a difference a year (and a player) make
Last year the Patriot defeated the Defenders of Heritage Christian High twice, but both matches were competitive even though CCS won in three straight both times. The second time, in the state regionals, Heritage scored 20 or more in all three games. Tonight the two teams met and it was a different story.
It's interesting all the different ways one player can influence a team. Heritage no longer has Danielle Zandstra, who has graduated and gone on to college basketball. Danielle stood about 6'1" or so, and if someone had not seen her play, would have figured that she was a dominant front row player. But while she did play great defense at the net, she did not hit the ball very hard - her offense wasn't really her strength. Her impact on her team was a little more subtle. She hustled as much or more than anyone. Her defense in the back row was as good as anyone else on the team. From my observation, though, it was her leadership that this years' team missed the most. She was calm and encouraging, and she made her teammates play better. This season Heritage seemed to have some talent, but had trouble putting it all together. Their defense was lax on the medium-speed hits and serves, but the flashed some real digging ability on the smashes and especially against Faith's plunging jump serves. They had a couple of crushing hits, but put a lot of balls into the net and past the end line.
There wasn't much drama in any of tonight's games, so I won't go into a blow-by-blow description of each game. At 1-1 in game one, Taylor dropped three aces in a row, and the game was for all intents and purposes over. Heritage hung around to 8-5, but quickly it was 19-8. The Patriots played with varying levels of intensity, often slipping into a less-than-focused effort, but they really didn't need that intensity to put away the Defenders. CCS played even with Heritage until an Ally spike closed out the 25-14 game one win. Game two was a little closer but never in doubt. Heritage's defense got better but their offense seemed to slip. We made a few of our own errors and Heritage hung around, trailing only 21-15 at one point. Holly, Faith and Ally each got kills in the home stretch and soon game two was in the books, 25-16. All the starch was out of Heritage by this point, and game three was a blowout. Calumet had a lot of kills and aces to open this game, each from several different players. Even with a substitutions, following a Jenna ace the Patriots led 16-4. The girls relaxed just a bit but all that did was keep the lead from growing as fast as it had. The Heritage errors began piling up, and the game finished on three straight Heritage mishits. Final score: 25-9.
On to what could be the girls' last real challenge until NACA. Crossroads, Goshen and perhaps Hebron lurk somewhere down the road, but we should still be favored in any of those matchups. Maybe there will be a new team at Quentin Road. We'll have to see. In the meantime, both Terre Haute South and North, and Crown Point await us this Saturday, and all three will be tough.
It's interesting all the different ways one player can influence a team. Heritage no longer has Danielle Zandstra, who has graduated and gone on to college basketball. Danielle stood about 6'1" or so, and if someone had not seen her play, would have figured that she was a dominant front row player. But while she did play great defense at the net, she did not hit the ball very hard - her offense wasn't really her strength. Her impact on her team was a little more subtle. She hustled as much or more than anyone. Her defense in the back row was as good as anyone else on the team. From my observation, though, it was her leadership that this years' team missed the most. She was calm and encouraging, and she made her teammates play better. This season Heritage seemed to have some talent, but had trouble putting it all together. Their defense was lax on the medium-speed hits and serves, but the flashed some real digging ability on the smashes and especially against Faith's plunging jump serves. They had a couple of crushing hits, but put a lot of balls into the net and past the end line.
There wasn't much drama in any of tonight's games, so I won't go into a blow-by-blow description of each game. At 1-1 in game one, Taylor dropped three aces in a row, and the game was for all intents and purposes over. Heritage hung around to 8-5, but quickly it was 19-8. The Patriots played with varying levels of intensity, often slipping into a less-than-focused effort, but they really didn't need that intensity to put away the Defenders. CCS played even with Heritage until an Ally spike closed out the 25-14 game one win. Game two was a little closer but never in doubt. Heritage's defense got better but their offense seemed to slip. We made a few of our own errors and Heritage hung around, trailing only 21-15 at one point. Holly, Faith and Ally each got kills in the home stretch and soon game two was in the books, 25-16. All the starch was out of Heritage by this point, and game three was a blowout. Calumet had a lot of kills and aces to open this game, each from several different players. Even with a substitutions, following a Jenna ace the Patriots led 16-4. The girls relaxed just a bit but all that did was keep the lead from growing as fast as it had. The Heritage errors began piling up, and the game finished on three straight Heritage mishits. Final score: 25-9.
On to what could be the girls' last real challenge until NACA. Crossroads, Goshen and perhaps Hebron lurk somewhere down the road, but we should still be favored in any of those matchups. Maybe there will be a new team at Quentin Road. We'll have to see. In the meantime, both Terre Haute South and North, and Crown Point await us this Saturday, and all three will be tough.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Well, that was fun
Who would have predicted that both the JV and the varsity would come from way back in the third games of the championship matches of their respective tournaments to win, with each ripping off long strings of points to do so. That never-say-attitude says a lot about the girls and a lot about the program. And this isn't the first time this season the varsity has done this, trailing Andrean 11-5 in game three at the Lafayette Central Catholic tournament before pulling out the victory.
Since I was at the varsity tournament, this story will be about that team. As many of you remember, we won this tournament last year, defeating three tough teams - Griffith, Merrillville and Winamac - before having a little easier time with the host team in the championship. This year Griffith and Merrillville were in our pool again, with North Judson replacing Winamac. First up was Merrillville, a team we had defeated earlier this year in three straight, two of which were very close. This time, not so much. We got on a roll, and Merrillville really didn't know how to stop it. The girls actually trailed in the first game 4-3. Faith's jump serve was working and Merrillville really couldn't handle it. Four aces, a couple of Taylor kills, a nice block by Lauren, and soon it was 13-4. Taylor's serve was also working, and when it was her turn, she also ripped off four aces in an eight-point run. Game 1: 25-8, CCS. Game two wasn't quite as dominant, but only because the girls took a bit to get going. This time the Patriots trailed 8-6 before things turned around. This time the girls's surged behind kills rather than aces, Taylor especially. On consecutive points, the girls stuffed Merrillville spikes, Lauren being involved in both. Ally placed a dink perfectly, and game two was in the books, 25-13.
North Judson was CCS's next opponent. They gave the girls a little more of a game, but not enough to make anyone nervous. NJ actually was hitting the ball pretty well in game 1. Neither team committed a lot of errors. We continued to block pretty well, better than we have recently. As late as 12-10 we led by only two, but then we began to pull away. Taylor, Faith and Ally had kills, a couple more blocks, and after a NJ hitting error, the lead was 23-13. A tiny LGFS, then Holly got the clinching kill in a 25-16 game 1 win. Game 2 saw the girls get going a little earlier, as NJ started to make some hitting errors while our girls kept up their high level of play. The lead got up to 19-8. From there the girls kind of maintained the lead and the final was the same as game 1, 25-16.
I had done a little research on our next opponent, Griffith. The Times did a feature on their 6' hitter, Kelsey Bonewits, and she was putting up some big numbers. The Post-Tribune had them ranked in the top ten in the region. We figured they would be our biggest challenge in the pool play and that turned out to be the case. Because one of the teams' bus broke down, the schedule had to be shuffled. This resulted in very long wait, over three hours, between games. So when a lot of the trouble we had in the first game was self-inflicted, it was understandable. Missed serves, net violations and hitting errors plagued us through the first half of the game, and we trailed at one point 15-11. We were still trailing 17-15 when Taylor put one down. The girls really started getting things working here. Kills by Taylor, aces by Ally, and blocks by Lauren. This resulted in ten straight points and a game 1 25-17 victory. Game two was one of streaks, as we trailed 6-3. Faith's jump serve was really dropping and CCS scored nine of the next ten points. A little later, a Faith kill made the lead five, 16-11. From there the lead eroded to one after a hitting error, 20-19. Taylor put on down which Griffith matched. Taylor didn't think they got the message so she put another one down. Faith them moved back to the front row and she got two kills and then a Griffith hitting error ended it, 25-20.
On to the championship game. Again. I think this made seven consecutive finals appearances for the Patriots. Of the previous six, five were victories. And our opponent was the same as last year, the host school, Kankakee Valley. Last year this was our easiest game of the day. Not so this year. KV played two six-foot middles, both sophomores, and had at least two other good hitters. They looked very impressive, certainly offensively, in the pool play we were able to see. At first it looked like it might be like last year. KV made a few errors, Taylor and Faith made kills and and ace by Katie gave CCS a 6-2 lead. Four errors by the Patriots plus a KV kill and it was game on, to use a cliche. Faith now began to find her hitting rhythm and KV kept going into the net and soon the Patriots had a four-point lead again, 12-8. The team went into another funk, committing a lot of errors and KV scored eight of the next nine points. And then things turned around again. Faith started finding the floor with her hits, pushing the Patriots back into the lead at 20-18. The teams traded points until it was 23-21. Then it got really interesting. After we dinked one out, KV crushed a couple and they were one point away from winning game one. Lauren kept things going with a nice block. Taylor moved into the serving position and smoked an ace. Now we were one point away. Two KV kills game them a one point lead, 26-25. It looked like we lost in on the next point, but KV was called for going into the net. Faith put one down. KV blocked the next one. 27-27. KV put the next serve into the net but then got it back with a kill. KV went into the net again and offset it with another kill. 29-29. Yet another service error followed but this time KV missed on their kill attempt. 31-29 Patriots. 31-29. The score of the final game in the state finals against Faith in 2009. Except we were on the wrong side of that one. Not that I'm bitter about that.
We were fast out of the blocks in the second game. KV had a lot of trouble with Ally's serves (which I noticed were harder and harder as the day went on) to start the game and CCS led 4-0. That didn't last long. Two kills, an ace, and three errors by the Patriots and they were trailing. A Taylor hit followed by a Taylor ace and it was tied. Back and forth the two teams went. Another Taylor kill followed by an Ally dink and a Faith dink gave the Patriots a 15-11 lead. KV scored four straight to tie it up. Faith put one down, but that was the only highlight in a 9-2 KV run behind their hitting and blocking. CCS tied it up at 21 after a Faith ace, but KV was really in a hitting rhythm. Three of the next four points were on KV kills. Taylor got one more kill to bring the Patriots back to within one, but then a setting error ended game two. Two games, two neck-and-neck battles.
Game three was looking really bad. With every point precious because the third game is only to 15, they fell behind 5-2. KV was really hitting and blocking well. They were really using their height to their advantage. The Rohn sisters then wrapped kills around a hitting error by KV and it was tied. The teams traded points before KV strung three kills together after a CCS serving error and it was looking really bleak at 10-6. Taylor decided that it was now Taylor Time. A kill, dink and a block with Lauren brought the Patriots to within one. After a KV hitting error tied it up, it turned into Ally time. Two kills were followed by what I wrote down as a dink, but that doesn't do what she did justice. A big KV hit was dug by Faith, but she barely was able to get a hand on it and she kind of lined it toward the right side of the net. It looked like it was going into the net, but Ally somehow got over to it. Even though it was almost just a reaction, she was able to redirect the ball over the net to an open spot. All right, I just read my description, and it just doesn't describe how cool a play it was. Maybe someone has it on video. As they say, you gotta see it to believe it. That seemed to throw KV off a bit and and they hit one into the net. Such an epic match needed an exclamation point to end on, and Taylor didn't disappoint. A smash just beyond the ten foot line, right down the line. Game, match and tournament, Calumet Christian Patriots. Reigning and defending champions of the Kankakee Valley Invite.
The fun doesn't end. Heritage, our rivals of the last few years are the opponents on Tuesday, then another tough public school tournament in Terre Haute next Saturday, against three 4A schools. As always, should be fun.
Since I was at the varsity tournament, this story will be about that team. As many of you remember, we won this tournament last year, defeating three tough teams - Griffith, Merrillville and Winamac - before having a little easier time with the host team in the championship. This year Griffith and Merrillville were in our pool again, with North Judson replacing Winamac. First up was Merrillville, a team we had defeated earlier this year in three straight, two of which were very close. This time, not so much. We got on a roll, and Merrillville really didn't know how to stop it. The girls actually trailed in the first game 4-3. Faith's jump serve was working and Merrillville really couldn't handle it. Four aces, a couple of Taylor kills, a nice block by Lauren, and soon it was 13-4. Taylor's serve was also working, and when it was her turn, she also ripped off four aces in an eight-point run. Game 1: 25-8, CCS. Game two wasn't quite as dominant, but only because the girls took a bit to get going. This time the Patriots trailed 8-6 before things turned around. This time the girls's surged behind kills rather than aces, Taylor especially. On consecutive points, the girls stuffed Merrillville spikes, Lauren being involved in both. Ally placed a dink perfectly, and game two was in the books, 25-13.
North Judson was CCS's next opponent. They gave the girls a little more of a game, but not enough to make anyone nervous. NJ actually was hitting the ball pretty well in game 1. Neither team committed a lot of errors. We continued to block pretty well, better than we have recently. As late as 12-10 we led by only two, but then we began to pull away. Taylor, Faith and Ally had kills, a couple more blocks, and after a NJ hitting error, the lead was 23-13. A tiny LGFS, then Holly got the clinching kill in a 25-16 game 1 win. Game 2 saw the girls get going a little earlier, as NJ started to make some hitting errors while our girls kept up their high level of play. The lead got up to 19-8. From there the girls kind of maintained the lead and the final was the same as game 1, 25-16.
I had done a little research on our next opponent, Griffith. The Times did a feature on their 6' hitter, Kelsey Bonewits, and she was putting up some big numbers. The Post-Tribune had them ranked in the top ten in the region. We figured they would be our biggest challenge in the pool play and that turned out to be the case. Because one of the teams' bus broke down, the schedule had to be shuffled. This resulted in very long wait, over three hours, between games. So when a lot of the trouble we had in the first game was self-inflicted, it was understandable. Missed serves, net violations and hitting errors plagued us through the first half of the game, and we trailed at one point 15-11. We were still trailing 17-15 when Taylor put one down. The girls really started getting things working here. Kills by Taylor, aces by Ally, and blocks by Lauren. This resulted in ten straight points and a game 1 25-17 victory. Game two was one of streaks, as we trailed 6-3. Faith's jump serve was really dropping and CCS scored nine of the next ten points. A little later, a Faith kill made the lead five, 16-11. From there the lead eroded to one after a hitting error, 20-19. Taylor put on down which Griffith matched. Taylor didn't think they got the message so she put another one down. Faith them moved back to the front row and she got two kills and then a Griffith hitting error ended it, 25-20.
On to the championship game. Again. I think this made seven consecutive finals appearances for the Patriots. Of the previous six, five were victories. And our opponent was the same as last year, the host school, Kankakee Valley. Last year this was our easiest game of the day. Not so this year. KV played two six-foot middles, both sophomores, and had at least two other good hitters. They looked very impressive, certainly offensively, in the pool play we were able to see. At first it looked like it might be like last year. KV made a few errors, Taylor and Faith made kills and and ace by Katie gave CCS a 6-2 lead. Four errors by the Patriots plus a KV kill and it was game on, to use a cliche. Faith now began to find her hitting rhythm and KV kept going into the net and soon the Patriots had a four-point lead again, 12-8. The team went into another funk, committing a lot of errors and KV scored eight of the next nine points. And then things turned around again. Faith started finding the floor with her hits, pushing the Patriots back into the lead at 20-18. The teams traded points until it was 23-21. Then it got really interesting. After we dinked one out, KV crushed a couple and they were one point away from winning game one. Lauren kept things going with a nice block. Taylor moved into the serving position and smoked an ace. Now we were one point away. Two KV kills game them a one point lead, 26-25. It looked like we lost in on the next point, but KV was called for going into the net. Faith put one down. KV blocked the next one. 27-27. KV put the next serve into the net but then got it back with a kill. KV went into the net again and offset it with another kill. 29-29. Yet another service error followed but this time KV missed on their kill attempt. 31-29 Patriots. 31-29. The score of the final game in the state finals against Faith in 2009. Except we were on the wrong side of that one. Not that I'm bitter about that.
We were fast out of the blocks in the second game. KV had a lot of trouble with Ally's serves (which I noticed were harder and harder as the day went on) to start the game and CCS led 4-0. That didn't last long. Two kills, an ace, and three errors by the Patriots and they were trailing. A Taylor hit followed by a Taylor ace and it was tied. Back and forth the two teams went. Another Taylor kill followed by an Ally dink and a Faith dink gave the Patriots a 15-11 lead. KV scored four straight to tie it up. Faith put one down, but that was the only highlight in a 9-2 KV run behind their hitting and blocking. CCS tied it up at 21 after a Faith ace, but KV was really in a hitting rhythm. Three of the next four points were on KV kills. Taylor got one more kill to bring the Patriots back to within one, but then a setting error ended game two. Two games, two neck-and-neck battles.
Game three was looking really bad. With every point precious because the third game is only to 15, they fell behind 5-2. KV was really hitting and blocking well. They were really using their height to their advantage. The Rohn sisters then wrapped kills around a hitting error by KV and it was tied. The teams traded points before KV strung three kills together after a CCS serving error and it was looking really bleak at 10-6. Taylor decided that it was now Taylor Time. A kill, dink and a block with Lauren brought the Patriots to within one. After a KV hitting error tied it up, it turned into Ally time. Two kills were followed by what I wrote down as a dink, but that doesn't do what she did justice. A big KV hit was dug by Faith, but she barely was able to get a hand on it and she kind of lined it toward the right side of the net. It looked like it was going into the net, but Ally somehow got over to it. Even though it was almost just a reaction, she was able to redirect the ball over the net to an open spot. All right, I just read my description, and it just doesn't describe how cool a play it was. Maybe someone has it on video. As they say, you gotta see it to believe it. That seemed to throw KV off a bit and and they hit one into the net. Such an epic match needed an exclamation point to end on, and Taylor didn't disappoint. A smash just beyond the ten foot line, right down the line. Game, match and tournament, Calumet Christian Patriots. Reigning and defending champions of the Kankakee Valley Invite.
The fun doesn't end. Heritage, our rivals of the last few years are the opponents on Tuesday, then another tough public school tournament in Terre Haute next Saturday, against three 4A schools. As always, should be fun.
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