Eddies avenge loss to Vicksburg in district quarterfinals
Published 7:59 am Wednesday, November 1, 2017
- Edwardsburg senior Audrey Bellina records one of her 28 kills against Vicksburg Monday night. (Leader photo/SCOTT NOVAK)
THREE RIVERS — Just when it looked as if the Edwardsburg volleyball team was going to cruise into the Class B district semifinals, Wolverine Conference champion Vicksburg found its game and forced the Eddies to go the distance Monday night.
The Eddies led 2-0 after winning the first two sets 25-20 and 25-22, the Bulldogs rallied to tie the quarterfinal match at Three Rivers High School at 2-2 with victories in sets three and four 25-23 and 25-18.
That meant Edwardsburg and Vicksburg would play a fifth and deciding set for the right to advance to the semifinals against host Three Rivers at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
After falling behind 3-1 to start the fifth set, the Eddies (35-7) rallied to tie things up at 4-4 on a kill by senior Audrey Bellina.
An ace by Kylie Meek gave Edwardsburg a 5-4 lead.
It would be a lead the Eddies would not relinquish as they went on to defeat the Bulldogs 15-11 and win the match.
The victory avenged a 25-16 and 27-25 loss to Vicksburg in the semifinals of the Wolverine Conference Tournament on Saturday.
Monday night was the third meeting between the two teams this season with the Eddies sweeping the Bulldogs 3-0 in a league match on Oct. 17.
Edwardsburg coach Sarah Strefling said that convincing her team that they are talented enough to play at a high level has been one of her biggest challenges this season.
She hopes that by beating Vicksburg her team will realize just how good it can be.
“When I took this job they said this team never wins in five,” she said. “It is like they have good steam at the start, but then they slack a little. Like a typical team you have got to stay consistent. I did change my line up a little bit and that may have changed their momentum slightly. I was trying something that third set. I probably should not have done that.
“I am very proud that our seniors stepped up because on Saturday they (Vicksburg) shut us down mentally. It was kind of like that fourth set. Our seniors get stuck. They are not used to being leaders for our team and there are six of them. So they need to step up and be able to win those games.”
In the final set, Bellina had four of her team-high 28 kills, including the one that put the exclamation point on the win.
Edwardsburg also got kills from Megan Lee and Skye Leach, as well as a pair of kills from setter Claire Alby when she dumped the ball over the net.
Back-to-back blocks were critical in keeping the Eddies out in front. The second block gave Edwardsburg a 9-6 advantage that it stretched to 12-6 on an error by Vicksburg, a kill by Alby and a block by Leach.
Leach would finish with 15 kills and three blocks, while Bellina would finish with a pair of blocks. Leach and Bellina also led the Eddies in digs with 26 and 25 respectively. Meek finished with 23 digs.
Alby ended the match with 48 assists.
The Eddies will now face a Wildcat team in the semifinals that it defeated in five sets during the regular season.
“Three Rivers is going to be out to get us,” Strefling said. “We want to be able to come out strong against them because in season we struggled with them. They are a scrappy team too so we have got to be able to come out offensively strong in all three areas.”
The winner will advance to the 7 p.m. championship match at Three Rivers High School on Thursday.