The upset-minded Kewanee Boiler Girls came close to pulling off a win Tuesday night against regional host Illinois Valley Central.
Kewanee won the first game 25-20 and they were winning 13-5 in the second frame before IVC Coach Troy Webb called a pivotal timeout.
The Grey Ghosts then regrouped and mounted a comeback to claim the second game, 25-19. IVC’s momentum carried over into the third game and they defeated the Boiler Girls 25-16 to gain a spot in Thursday night’s regional championship match.
In game one action, Kewanee caught IVC flat-footed throughout much of the game. Aaliyah Duarte set the tone by serving an ace to get things rolling for KHS. Then in a succession of plays, senior Jillian Bennison had a block, a tip and an ace to give Kewanee a 6-2 lead.
Freshman setter Macee Pickering then connected with senior Emma Ellenberger and junior Tejhiana Amos on back-to-back kills to extend the Kewanee lead, 9-4.
Another kill by Amos and a block by the duo of Duarte and freshman Damaris Diaz prompted an IVC timeout, with KHS ahead 12-7.
The Grey Ghosts responded with three consecutive kills. Several plays later, IVC setter Alivia Bainter put an exclamation point on the games’ longest rally, but the Boiler Girls still maintained a 15-12 lead.
Towards the end of the game, Pickering had a nice back set to Ellenberger who landed a big kill that forced another IVC timeout at 22-17. Ellenberger followed with an ace, Duarte put down a free ball and Amos had a well placed tip to close out the game, 25-20.
Key to the win was Kewanee’s ability to neutralize IVC’s strong hitting game. “We came out very aggressive and quick on defense,” said Kewanee Coach Brea Cinnamon. “Our blockers did a tremendous job, forcing the IVC attackers to adjust and tip the ball,” she added.
The second game started out much like the first. The Boiler Girls again jumped out to a 6-2 lead.
In that run, Pickering recorded an ace and dished an assist to Ellenberger. Pickering also absorbed a blast from senior outside hitter, Etta Wagner, which culminated in senior Avery Yepsen setting up Bennison for a kill.
The next several plays involved a tip and a kill from Amos, a kill by Diaz and an ace by sophomore Taylor VanWinkle. Diaz added to the run with a well-placed tip and a solo block to extend Kewanee’s lead, 12-5. That was followed by an IVC hitting error and, at that point, Grey Ghost Coach Webb had seen enough.
Webb called for a timeout with his team down 13-5. Whatever advice he offered must’ve been constructive.
IVC’s 6’3″ power hitter, Lizzie Short, then came to life and had a pair of impressive kills. Those, coupled with a few KHS errors, led to a string of six IVC points and Kewanee holding a slim 13-12 edge.
A block by Diaz and Duarte temporarily halted IVC’s momentum, but a quick set from Bainter to Short gave IVC a 17-15 lead. A block, a tip and big kill by Ellenberger pulled Kewanee close at 19-20, but senior hitter Sage Geltmaker had a pair of floaters find the open spots to end the second game 25-19.
“We had a big lead in the second set but then started to have a hard time defending IVC’s middle attack and got beat on some well-placed tips,” said Cinnamon.
The momentum that IVC ended the second set with carried over into the third. Three kills by freshman Kayt Miller and a lethal one by Short gave IVC an 8-0 lead. Bainter held serve for 10-straight points before an IVC hitting error gave KHS their first point at 11-1.
Short and Geltmaker continued their tough attack at the net and IVC’s lead grew to 16-4. A tip by Pickering and a pair of kills by Diaz helped blunt the blows by IVC, but KHS was still down 19-10.
A kill by Bennison and and an ace by Duarte prompted an IVC timeout, with IVC maintaining a 19-12 lead. Ellenberger had a pair of kills down the stretch for the 21-14 score, but those would prove to be the final two kills of her successful high school career.
The strong play by IVC’s front row ultimately, proved to be too much to overcome and the Grey Ghosts closed out the game and match with a 25-16 win.
“We were slow to recover in the third set but started to battle back,” said Coach Cinnamon in her post match analysis. “We played incredibly hard tonight and that was the strongest I’ve seen our team play,” she added.
“I’m very proud of our team’s effort tonight and all season long. We have a lot of talent coming up,” Cinnamon noted. “I hope knowing we almost had that win tonight lights a spark in them and makes them want to work even harder in the off-season.”
Cinnamon was referring to the KHS sophomore team that finished 29-4 and freshman squad that was 27-1-1. Two freshmen (Pickering and Diaz) and a sophomore, VanWinkle, played key roles in the match against IVC.
Kewanee will lose five senior players to graduation. Those seniors are Avery Yepsen, Jillian Bennison, Emma Ellenberger, Melissa Fragoso and Abbie DeSchepper.
Stats for Kewanee:
Taylor VanWinkle: 4 digs, 1 ace, 6 service points
Tejhiana Amos: 4 kills, 1 block
Emma Ellenberger: 8 kills, 2 blocks, 4 digs, 1 ace, 3 service points
Macee Pickering: 10 assists, 1 kill, 6 digs, 2 aces, 7 service points
Jillian Bennison: 18 digs, 3 kills, 2 aces, 4 service points
Aaliyah Duarte: 8 digs, 1 kill, 2 blocks, 2 aces, 8 service points
Avery Yepsen: 11 assists, 1 kill, 3 digs, 2 service points
Damaris Diaz: 4 kills, 4 blocks
