St. Joseph volleyball wins IESA Class 3A Regional Championship
By Fred Kroner
The seventh-grade St. Joseph volleyball team won an IESA Class 3A regional championship on its own home court on Wednesday (March 1), but didn’t stop there.
On Monday (March 6), the Panthers qualified for the state tournament by virtue of a 26-24, 19-25, 25-20 triumph over Macon Meridian in the championship match of the Warrensburg-Latham Sectional.
In the regional finals, St. Joseph upended Georgetown Mary Miller for the second time in a week, 25-17, 23-25, 25-12.
A day earlier (Tuesday, Feb. 28), St. Joseph topped Bismarck-Henning, 25-18, 25-9, in the regional semis.
In the match with B-H, the service line was a welcome spot for the Panthers. Vivian Smith landed nine aces among her 16 service points.
“We played consistently overall and enjoyed a couple of good runs from the service line,” St. Joseph coach Jill Lubinski said.
Another set of players were catalysts from the serving line against Georgetown.
“We got a big push in the third set with eight service points (five aces) from Lyla Patton and a strong finish from Raegan Wheatley, serving the last six points of the set with five of those being aces,” Lubinski said. “I am so incredibly proud of the hard work these young ladies have put in during the season.
“They truly came together as a team and closed out the night with a strong finish. We are lucky enough to be one of only 16 3A volleyball teams in the state that get to keep playing and we are going to make the most of every moment we spend in the gym to keep improving.”
Squad members on the St. Joseph seventh-grade team are Ava Alexander, Ava Bronowski, Avarie Dietiker, Ainsley Dirksmeyer, Olivia Edington, Ashlee Jannusch, Megan Kearney, Addison Knight, Lyla Patton, Aubree Profancik, Kenley Ray, Lexi Smith, Vivian Smith, Brooklyn Stevens and Raegan Wheatley.
St. Joseph (18-4) will take on Pleasant Plains (22-5) in the state quarterfinals on Friday (March 10) back at Warrensburg-Latham. The Panthers have won their last four matches and will take the court for the 8:15 p.m. match.
This year’s state appearance will be the eighth in school history for a seventh-grade volleyball team from St. Joseph, and the fifth in the past 10 years.
Three previous squads have earned state trophies. The 2019 team was fourth, the 2015 team was third and the 2014 team was fourth. The other four state-qualifying seventh-grade teams were beaten in the quarterfinals.
—
St. Joseph’s eighth-grade team is also playing well in its regional tournament at home.
The Panthers hit the 20-win mark for the season on Tuesday (March 7) by holding off fourth-seeded Bismarck-Henning, 25-23, 22-25, 25-10.
Top-seeded St. Joseph, winners of its last eight matches, will face second-seeded Westville in the Wednesday (March 8) region al championship match.
The winner will play in the Hoopeston Sectional on Monday (March 13) at John Greer Grade School.
