BLOOMINGTON — Kristie Bailey summed up her team’s performance against Cissna Park in one word.
“Unbelievable,” she said.
St. Anthony came back to defeat the Lady Timberwolves in three sets on Saturday in the third-place match of the Class 1A State Final Tournament at CEFCU Arena on the campus of Illinois State University.
“It’s amazing, especially with such a big comeback there in the third game,” Bailey said. “I was like, ‘Don’t give. Don’t give up. We can fight back.'”
The Bulldogs won the first set, 25-15.
Cissna Park then won a back-and-forth second set, 25-23.
“They came at us a lot stronger,” Bailey said. “It took us a minute to adjust our defense and we knew it would be a battle.”
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-1 lead after a kill by senior middle blocker Anna Niemeyer.
The Lady Timberwolves responded with the next two points after a kill from sophomore outside hitter Addison Lucht and a service ace from senior setter Ava Morrical.
Cissna Park then tied the match, 6-6, before an attack error put St. Anthony back out in front, 7-6.
The Lady Timberwolves then scored the next five points to take an 11-7 lead before the Bulldogs tied the match, 11-11, following a service ace from senior outside hitter Andrea Rudolphi.
Both teams then continued to trade point after point before Cissna Park scored the final three points after a kill from Lucht, a block from sophomore middle Josie Nuekomm and an error on St. Anthony to win the set and force a decisive third.
Just as the Bulldogs have done all season, though, they didn’t let one bad set get away from them.
They have always been able to stick to the game plan and this third was no different.
Cissna Park led 12-7 after a 6-0 run before a service error ended that stretch and stretched its lead to five again, 21-16, putting St. Anthony in a tough situation.
A block from junior middle Addi Nuxoll, however, changed all of that.
“We needed some momentum and I knew if we got a big block down, it would help out our defense a lot,” Nuxoll said.
Following the Nuxoll block, St. Anthony scored the next five points to tie the match, 21-21.
Both teams then traded points before a kill from Neukomm gave Cissna Park a 23-22 lead.
Freshman middle Cara Hatton then put down a shot that tied the match.
“To feel comfortable setting a freshman in such a close match; I don’t think Stacie even questions it,” Bailey said. “Stacie’s like, ‘I’m going to the backside and Cara just hammered one down.”
Senior outside hitter Abbi Hatton then found the floor to make it 24-23 before an error on the Lady Timberwolves ended the match.
“I can’t say how proud I am of this group of girls and how they don’t give up,” Bailey said. “This comes from us playing a pretty difficult season where we could get behind some and could come back. So, knowing you can come back is a big thing. It gives you a good sense of accomplishment; they should be extremely proud of themselves today.”
The bench then stormed the court after the final whistle blew with a loud and boisterous sea of fans behind them.
“It’s amazing. I love that we represent the Effingham area and show that we do have good volleyball,” Bailey said. “A lot of people don’t believe the south is as strong, so it’s nice to show them that we can come up here and win.”
Blocking was one reason for that celebration.
St. Anthony finished with 12 assisted blocks and two solo blocks.
“Our block really contained [Cissna Park]; I don’t think they were ready for what our block could put down,” Bailey said.
Rudolphi and senior right-side hitter Laney Coffin each had one assisted block. Cara Hatton had one assisted block and one solo blocked shot. Abbi Hatton had two assisted blocks. Nuxoll had three assisted blocks and one solo blocked shot and Niemeyer had four assisted blocks.
Senior libero Maddie Kibler finished with 15 digs but credited her front row for the job they did more than anything she was able to accomplish.
“The block just takes away so much of the court,” Kibler said. “There was really only a little spot I could stand and then when they hit it there, I’m there, but the block is great. Our left sides pulled back really well today and they dug line really well.”
Bailey made sure to mention how her team fared behind the service line, too.
St. Anthony finished with five service aces to one service error.
Hatton had two services aces, while Rudolphi, Nuxoll and senior setter Stacie Vonderheide each had one.
“We knew we had some servers back there that could get some points for us and we started to get on a roll and when this team gets on a roll, good things happen,” Bailey said.
She also enjoyed coaching a team that was aggressive when they received a set.
After the team’s loss to eventual state champion Galena, Bailey said she wanted her normal team back and, lo and behold, she got just that on Saturday morning.
“We had started setting the outside ball a little bit more, which freed up some of our right-side attacks,” Bailey said. “We started mixing the ball up really well yet again.”
St. Anthony hammered 32 kills and hit a positive .148 for the match.
Rudolphi led the way with 13 kills and hit .281. She earned Player of the Match afterward.
“It was a pretty close game, so I was like, ‘I have to hit it over,'” Rudolphi said.
Abbi Hatton had nine kills and hit .276. Cara Hatton had four kills and hit .154.
Niemeyer had three kills.
“Going into a game, I know I have to contribute, whether that’s pulling the block or putting it down when I need to; I need to know that they can rely on me,” she said.
Nuxoll added two kills and Kibler had one.
Senior setter Addie Wernsing had a team-high 15 assists.
“I know I can set anybody on our team and they can get the ball down,” she said. “They can hit the ball wherever I set the ball and they can adjust to my sets and hit the ball better even when my sets aren’t all the way there and put the ball down.”
Vonderheide had eight assists. Kibler and Cara Hatton each had two and Abbi Hatton had one.
As for Cissna Park, Lucht had 16 kills and hit .343.
“We knew they were going to set her inside and we were ready for it,” Bailey said. “We pulled our block way in, but I think our serving kept them from setting her where she needed to be.”
Cissna Park finished the season with a 37-5 record.
St. Anthony ends the year with a 33-9 mark.
Abbi Hatton said that it feels “great” to end the season with a win — something only two teams are guaranteed to accomplish.
“There are only two teams in 1A that get to end their season with a win: the state champions and the third-place winners,” Hatton said. “Just being here for our school and making history for the first time means a lot to all of us and it’s a great way to end the season.”
What is just as great, though, is taking home some more hardware and doing so in historical fashion.
Hatton is one of several seniors on the volleyball team that has been a part of the same historical moments they captured in softball in May.
Unlike the softball postseason, though, the volleyball postseason was one where even more obstacles were faced throughout.
There was no easy road, as the Bulldogs had to upend four higher seeds with a combined winning percentage of 83.5 percent to reach Bloomington before facing two more higher-seeded opponents upon their arrival.
Overall, though both roads were different in a sense, the same result occurred — another trophy earned and celebrated.