Olpe wins home sub-state
Eagles take down Lebo in finals to advance to state
By Sam Wilson
Monday, October 24, 2011
OLPE—Even an early celebration from some of its fans couldn’t derail the Olpe volleyball team Saturday. With the Eagles holding match point in their sub-state championship match, several fans reacted to what they thought was the ball hitting the floor and the match ending. Instead, it was a Lebo dig to prolong the point. Olpe quickly responded with a kill from Janae Haag to take the point and a berth in the Class 2A state tournament Friday and Saturday at White Auditorium.
The Eagles (29-6) used a run in the middle of the second set to take a 25-20, 25-14 victory in the championship match. Lebo had cut its deficit to 11-6 in the second set before the Eagles scored six of the next seven points to go ahead by 10 and take control.
“We had a lot of adrenaline going right there, we knew that we had to just get the job done,” Haag said. “So we powered through it.”
The first set was much closer, with Lebo trailing 19-17 late. Elena Flott had a kill on the next point, and Haag had kills for the Eagles’ last three points to secure the set.
Olpe coach Marilyn Stueve said her team’s 25-21, 25-17 semifinal win over Berean Academy took its toll, and it took the Eagles time to recover during the championship match.
“It took, in their minds, just a little bit longer than they thought it would to refocus, to get ready for that championship game,” Stueve said. “Once they zeroed in on it, you could see that difference.”
Lebo coach Gina Peek said the Eagles were able to capitalize when the Wolves struggled to stop long runs.
“That was a fear coming into this, that that’s probably a weakness of our team,” Peek said. “If we don’t side out right away, we tend to give up several points in a row. It was a concern, and ended up happening.”
Before facing Berean Academy, Olpe opened with a 25-8, 25-3 win over Oxford. The Eagles scored 11 of the first 12 points in the first set. In the second set, the Eagles led 7-3 before a Haag kill. Haag then took the serve, and the Eagles scored 17 more points in a row to finish the set. Haag had six aces during the run, including on her first serve, and Flott had three kills. Emmy Redeker and Kendyl McDougald each had a kill during the 18-point run.
The semifinals brought far more drama for the Eagles. Olpe led Berean Academy 19-11 in the first set before the Warriors scored five straight points, leading to an Olpe timeout. The timeout didn’t lead to immediate results, with Berean Academy taking the next point on an ace. The Eagles broke the streak on the next point, and managed to hold onto the set despite leading 22-20 late. They didn’t let the second set get as close in a 25-17 win.
Lebo began its day with a 25-21, 25-16 win over Chase County in the first round. The Wolves’ lead was cut to 22-21 in the first set before they rattled off three straight points. Whitney VanArsdale had a kill to break the Chase County run, and VanArsdale and Shelby Holmes had a block to set up set point, another VanArsdale kill. After the close first set, the Wolves took the second set more convincingly to set up a semifinal match against Peabody-Burns.
Again, the Wolves played a much closer first set when compared to the second set. Lebo led 20-19 before a block from Holmes and two VanArsdale kills helped fuel a five-point run to take the first set. The Wolves took a 25-19, 25-13 win to advance to the championship match against Olpe.
Madison was eliminated in the first round with a 25-17, 25-15 loss to Berean Academy.
Olpe will be making a return trip to state after finishing second in Class 1A last season in Hays. Being in Class 2A means a much shorter trip to the state tournament in Emporia.
“It feels good because it’s our backyard,” Flott said. “We played on it before and we know we can do it.”