The No. 1 seeded Bravettes powered through an intense 33-31 game one win and took early command of game two, winning 25-20 to advance to an Elite Eight match up with Hartsburg (Emden).
Also a No. 1 seed, Hartsburg defeated Decatur Unity 25-13, 25-14 at the Concord (Triopia) Sectional to earn their spot in Friday’s Bushnell-Prairie City Super Sectional.
In order to advance, the Bravettes had to scratch and claw their way through a game one grinder against Illini Bluffs. Annawan came out with more intensity than the Tigers and jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
“Our girls came out with a great mindset,” said Annawan Coach Gina Peterson. “They knew they had to go to work and get in front early and that’s what they did,” she added.
Strong serving by sophomore Tyra Jones combined with a block by Hannah Heitzler and Kaylee Celus led to Annawan’s early lead.
The Tigers gradually fought their way back. Lily Luczkowiak had an ace and Reese Cruit set up Annabelle Fortin for a kill to tie the game 7-7. From that point on, the lead went back and forth and the score was tied on several occasions.
Junior setter Clara Bella VanOpdorp had a kill to give Annawan a 13-11 advantage, but then Illini Bluffs scored four straight points to prompt an Annawan timeout with the Bravettes now down 15-13.
Back-to-back kills by Celus helped to swing the pendulum back in Annawan’s favor with the scored tied at 16.
Celus later served five straight points (one of which was an ace) to give the Bravettes a 23-20 lead. In that span, Jones had a solo kill and was set up twice by VanOpdorp for two more.
The intensity ratcheted up as the virtual 25 point ending marker loomed. What followed was a series of nine ties building up to the final 33-31 score.
VanOpdorp had an assist to Celus to tie the score at 29. Fortin then countered with a kill for the Tigers for another tie at 31. A hitting error by Illini Bluffs went out of bounds giving Annawan the 32-31 edge.
The final point of the marathon was compliments of Tyra Jones. She buried a free ball to end game one, 33-31.
“The girls stayed calm and played through some tough points and rallies,” noted Peterson.
The second game was also a steady back and forth until Celus served up consecutive aces, giving Annawan some breathing room at 10-5.
After a couple Illini Bluffs hitting errors and a quick set from Celus to Jones, the Bravettes lead grew to 13-7.
Illini Bluffs would get within three or four on several occasions, but couldn’t put together a good run to stop Annawan’s momentum.
Cruit connected with Luczkowiak for a kill at 16-14, but then the Tigers had a hard time returning the serve of Celus and Annawan began to pull away. Illini Bluffs signaled for a timeout with the Bravettes leading 20-14.
In the final stretch, it was Tyra Jones coming up big for Annawan with three kills – including the final point of the match. VanOpdorp had a textbook back set to the sophomore and she put it away for the 25-20 win.
“The girls knew going in that Illini Bluffs had a tough front line, but they trusted each other to do their jobs and kept working to find gaps in the block and open spots on the floor,” said Peterson.
The Bravettes primary setter, Clara Bella VanOpdorp, dished out 23 assists on the night. Hitters Tyra Jones and Kaylee Celus had 16 and 10 kills, respectively.
Celus added five aces, five assists, two digs and one block. VanOpdorp had seven digs and two kills. Olivia Goodley added four digs and one block.
Elaina Manuel had four digs, two kills and one block. Hannah Heitzler contributed four digs, one kill and one block. Jones added one ace and a block.
Annawan is now 29-6 on the season and their next opponent, Hartsburg-Emden is 31-7.
