Hunters vanquished by Festus in district final

By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

DE SOTO - The Ste. Genevieve volleyball team was in search of its first district championship since 1997 on Wednesday night, but a valiant and spirited effort fell short in a 25-20, 25-21 loss to top-seeded Festus in the Class 3, District 2 final at De Soto.

Strong defense was a staple for both teams throughout the contest, but the Lady Tigers gained an advantage by putting on a blocking clinic, including 14 rejections back to the Hunters' side of the net.

Festus (19-6-3) will travel back to De Soto on Saturday to face Lutheran South in sectional-round action. The Lady Tigers made their last state playoff appearance in 2001.

“Blocking has been a key for us all year,” said Festus coach Cindi Eggemeyer. “I have coached many of these girls since they were in junior high, so this is pretty special.”

Festus quickly established the power game with back-to-back kills from Emily McCreary to open the match, and built an 8-3 lead when two big blocks set up a kill along the back line by Gabby Schmitz.

The Hunters faced an 18-10 deficit in game one despite seeing junior Mallory Walker win two nice battles above the net with tips down the line, but mounted a late rally to close the gap.

Tisha Meyer sparked the comeback with a stuff-block and Lindsay Rhodes followed with a service ace. After the teams traded points, Megan Hutson began a five-point Ste. Genevieve run with a kill to end an thrilling rally.

The ensuing exchange would last even longer, and ended when an outstanding dig by Rhodes landed untouched on the other side. Hitting errors by the Lady Tigers on the next two points would shrink their lead to 20-19.

Festus responded with strong kills from Schmitz and Andrea Lucas, then closed out the opening game on a missed serve from Ste. Genevieve.

Game two saw the Lady Tigers again take the early advantage, but they immediately gave it back with a series of attacking errors for a 7-7 tie. Festus regrouped with accurate kills into the back corner from McCreary and Ashley Brown for a 12-9 edge.

Ste. Genevieve borrowed a page from the Festus playbook and proved its tenacity by storming back with a flurry of pivotal blocks. Bethany Drumm began the momentum swing with a middle stuff-block, and Rhodes delivered two more shortly after to give the Hunters a 16-15 lead.

Festus regained the lead with two clutch kills from sophomore Brittany Borman, setting the stage for a frantic and entertaining battle to the finish. The Hunters trailed 20-17, but got a timely kill from Addie Korenak. Meyer dug her own block to set up a Megan Hutson kill, and Stephanie Rector served an ace to square the score.

Lucas put Festus back on top with a scoring spike from a tough angle, then knocked down another to set up match point after libero Emily Diesel somehow controlled two blazing attacks to keep the play alive.

The Lady Tigers needed five attacks during the final rally to put the match away, but McCreary did so when a deep kill sliced through the back row.

“It certainly was the toughest match we had this year,” said Ste. Genevieve coach Dennis Drumm. “Our energy and enthusiasm were good, but in the long run, I think we made a few more errors than they did. Still, it was a fun match and I was happy with the effort from our girls. They left it all on the floor.”

Lucas led Festus with seven kills, and added three blocks and two aces. Schmitz made six kills and McCreary made five, while Borman stepped up big with six kills and six stuff-blocks.

The Hunters were led in kills by Hutson and Rhodes with four each, while Walker chipped in three. Rhodes also made three stuff-blocks and a team-high 11 digs. Drumm dished out five assists, Diesel added six digs, and Rector served up seven points.

Ste. Genevieve overcame a mediocre start to the season to win 12 of its last 16 matches for a final record of 18-9-3. The Hunters will lose Drumm, Diesel and Korenak to graduation.

“We struggled mightily at times early in the season, because there were so many questions with this team,” added Drumm, “but we made a couple of adjustments and started winning. It was a successful season.”