By FRED KRONER
fred@mahometnews.com
St. Joseph-Ogden’s volleyball team has one more road trip in its future.
The Spartans are headed to the Class 2A state semifinals in Normal following Friday’s rousing come-from-behind super-sectional victory over Chicago Christian on the Knights’ home court.
“So surreal,” senior middle hitter Lacey Kaiser said.
“Pure excitement,” added Stephanie Trame, another senior middle hitter.
The showdown didn’t lack for tension and drama.
Almost half of the match was played before the Spartans secured their first lead, 10-9 in the second set.
That followed an opening set where the Knights doubled the score quickly (12-6) and coasted to a 25-15 triumph.
“They had a strong offense, and it took us a little bit to get used to it,” Kaiser said.
“After the first set, we saw spots that were open and were able to put balls there,” Trame said.
The Spartans have needed to rally in other matches and Trame said the team wasn’t distraught after Friday’s start.
“We’re used to starting off slower,” Trame said. “The first set didn’t do anything to our confidence.
“We know we’ll never give up.”
SJ-O fought back to garner a 25-23 triumph in the second set and then trailed just twice in the decisive third set, a 25-16 victory that produced the school’s 21st consecutive victory.
Middle hitters Kaiser and Trame were two of the team’s catalysts.
“They were game-changers,” SJ-O coach Abby McDonald said. “They got us going and stood out in the middle.”
The Spartans only trailed 1-0 and 5-4 in the final set while raising their school-record season win total to 36.
Consecutive blocks by Trame and Kennedi Burnett helped the Spartans build a 16-10 cushion in the final set.
McDonald struggled to keep her composure, even though her team needed nine more points to secure its advancement.
“After the big block, it brought me to tears,” McDonald said. “They were in control and that’s when I realized, ‘They’re going to do this.’”
Having experienced the state tournament with the Spartans’ team in 2016, McDonald was keenly aware of what would be awaiting her current squad.
“I know the types of memories these kids are going to make,” she said, “ones that will last a lifetime, and that made me emotional.”
Next up for SJ-O (36-4) is one of the state’s all-time small-school powerhouses, Breese Mater Dei (32-9) at noon on Friday at Illinois State University’s Redbird Arena. That winner will play for the state championship on Saturday afternoon.
“Our whole goal was to make it to state,” Trame said. “Now that we’re here, we’re so excited.
“The teams will be a lot tougher, but we have confidence. We have improved so much.”
In its history, Mater Dei has captured seven state championships in volleyball and earned nine other top-four state finishes.
The state match will be SJ-O’s sixth in a row on the road since the postseason series began, but it will be nothing compared to Friday’s journey
SJ-O traveled more than two hours to Palos Heights on Friday to play a memorable super-sectional match that lasted 70 minutes. The total round trip covered more than 266 miles.
McDonald is sticking to her plan of giving her players two days off before resuming practice on Monday.
“When we go (to state), we’re going to enjoy every moment, whether we win or lose,” she said.
After pulling into a tie in the first set at 3-3, SJ-O was unable to draw even again until a Trame kill made it 9-9 in the second set.
It wasn’t just the offense that found a spark in the middle set.
“We did a better job on our defense,” McDonald said. “We found some weaknesses that we didn’t take advantage of in the first set.
“We played a lot more controlled on our side of the net.”
The Spartans captured their first lead of the night – on the match’s 59th point (out of 129 total points) – when Chicago Christian (32-6) hit the ball out of bounds. At that point, SJ-O was ahead, 10-9, in the second set.
Setter Emily Bigger (26 assists) involved all of her hitters in the final set, including getting the ball to Trame, Burnett, Katelyn Berry and Kaiser for kills at key junctures.
For the match, the Spartans put all but two serves in play. They not only didn’t give away many points, but also made it tough for the home team to find a rhythm.
“We served aggressively and took them out of their first-ball contact,” McDonald said. “We served short. We served deep. They are confident in any zone I give them. That gave them more confidence as we went.”
SJ-O took the lead for good in the third set, 17-16.
McDonald was filled with good feelings after the teams traded wins in the first two sets.
“The way we controlled the end of the second set, things were starting to pick up for us and our body language changed,” she said. “I told them (before the final set), ‘This is what we’ve prepared for all season.’”
The team made its presence felt at the net, registering 10 blocks. Kaiser and Payton Vallee each put up three blocks. Burnett and Trame had two blocks apiece.
The Spartans have won six consecutive three-set matches and overall are 6-2 for the season in three-set matches. Four of the three-set victories occurred in matches where SJ-O lost the opening set.
SJ-O picked up many of the Knights’ attacks, amassing 70 digs overall.
Rylee Stahl led with 19 digs and Bigger completed her double-double with 16 digs.
They were far from the only standouts.
Burnett contributed nine digs, Kaiser had eight, Lindsey Aden had eight and Kenly Taylor had six digs.
Burnett was the leader of a balanced offense. She totaled 11 kills and Trame pounded seven kills. Berry and Vallee each finished with six kills. Bigger had three and Kaiser added one kill.
The quartet of Trame, Vallee, Bigger and Kaiser combined for 17 kills in the match without any hitting errors.
McDonald is ready to go to battle again with her team.
“They are not only great volleyball players, but also good people,” she said, “and I’m thankful to the coaching staff for the time they have put in.”
The winners of the Friday, Nov. 15 state semifinal matches will play in the championship match at 1:55 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16. The semifinal losers will return to action on Nov. 16 in the third-place match at 12:25 p.m.
