Another successful season for the Wethersfield Lady Geese comes to a close after losing to a tough Illini Bluffs squad, 25-14, 25-19 Monday night at the Princeville Class 1A sectional semifinal.
The Lady Geese ended their season with a record of 27-6-1 and added another regional plaque to the Wethersfield High School trophy case.
In game one against Illini Bluffs, the Lady Geese fell behind early but then recovered and took the lead, forcing Illini Bluffs Coach Quincy Thompson to call a timeout.
The Tigers regrouped and the Lady Geese had a hard time getting back on track, losing the first game 25-14.
In the second game of the match, senior Kennady Anderson recorded back-to-back aces to give Wethersfield an early 5-3 edge.
Senior hitters Annabelle Fortin and Lil Luczkowiak put away two hard hit kills to give the advantage back to the Tigers at 6-5.
WHS junior Lajaya Angel had a kill, but the relentless Tigers followed suit with kills by Reese Cruit and Fortin to go up 11-8.
What followed was a barrage of blocks by the Illini front line. Junior Brenna Davis had a solo block and on the ensuing play, she teamed up with Cruit to block the WHS attack at the net.
Fortin and Davis formed a third consecutive block to give the Tigers a 16-8 lead. “That’s the best blocking team we’ve played against,” said WHS Coach Tonya Vincent. “Their blocking mechanics are just unreal.”
Emersyn Nelson and Kennady Anderson each sent over floaters that landed, but the Lady Geese were still behind 18-12.
Davis, Luczkowiak and Lexi Brinkman then had three consecutive kills for Illini Bluffs to go up 21-12. A big block by senior Raqi Young and Emersyn Nelson briefly stopped the Tigers momentum.
During the final points of the match and season, the Lady Geese had a couple big blocks of their own. Young and senior Sophie Nimrick teamed up for one last block and Nimrick joined Angel, but the Illini Bluffs lead was 24-19 and proved insurmountable.
Sophomore hitter Chloe Eeten closed out the match with a kill, giving the Tigers the 25-19 win.
“They’re tall and they block very well,” said Vincent of the Tigers. “We started tipping the ball to some open spots, but their defense adjusted to that,” she added.
“I’m so proud of our girls, though. We played well, but they had the edge tonight.”
Stats for the Lady Geese:
Emersyn Nelson: – 3 kills, 1 block, 1 dig
Lajaya Angel: 2 kills, 2 blocks
Cora Hodge: 13 digs, 1 assist
Kendall Vincent: 3 kills, 3 aces, 7 digs
Kennady Anderson: 2 kills, 2 aces, 7 digs
Marlie Lindstrom: 11 digs
Sophie Nimrick: 2 blocks, 1 dig
Raqi Young: 1 kill, 2 blocks, 11 assists, 6 digs
