Knightettes, Lady Warriors reach MAAA Tournament finals

By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

PARK HILLS - The seeds held true to form in the semi-finals of the MAAA Conference volleyball tournament at Central High School on Wednesday. As a result, the regular-season champions from the Large-School and Small-School divisions will clash tonight at 7:45 p.m. in the finals.

Farmington 25-13, 25-17, Potosi

The Farmington Knightettes made a strong statement as the No. 1 seed in the first semi-final matchup, strolling to an easy 25-13, 25-17 victory over the fourth-seeded Potosi Lady Trojans.

Farmington (21-4-3) set the tone of the match with tough blocking and precision hitting from the outset. The Knightettes repeatedly scored on long diagonal kills with plenty of velocity. Megan Bess connected with a spike from the left side to give the Knightettes a 4-3 edge. Farmington held the lead for the remainder of game one.

Randie Wooldridge also took aim from the left side, and hammered a pair kills during a six-point streak by the Knightettes which upped the margin to 12-4. Natalie Hooss kept the power trend going with a kill before Wooldridge executed a solo block, extending the tally to 17-5.

Serving proved to be a negative aspect of the contest for both teams in game one. Potosi missed four serves and Farmington botched three during the stanza.

Potosi (22-6-1) struggled to get organized on offense throughout the opening game, but had more success near its conclusion. Lora Dickey stopped a Farmington scoring run by pounding a spike through two blockers, then served an ace to make it 22-10.

Julie McGirl tipped the ball past the opposition on two consecutive points to draw the Lady Trojans closer, but a strong kill from the middle by Christina Johnson helped the Knightettes wrap up game one.

Dickey gave Potosi a good start and an early lead in game two. After rejecting a Farmington attack with a stuff-block, Dickey scored with two kills of her own.

The Knightettes found themselves in a 7-2 deficit after making a couple of untimely passing errors, but mounted a quick and impressive response. Johnson scored with a spike from the middle of the net to spark a run of six straight points. Bess capped the rally with a service ace, putting her team back in front at 8-7.

Potosi setter Ashley Mims surprised Farmington with a deep redirection on the second hit to keep the Lady Trojans within a point at 11-10, but the Knightettes' relentless attack led to a gradual pull-away.

Bess scored with a kill from the middle, and was successful again with a cross-court placement to extend Farmington's lead to 20-14. Wooldridge put the final stamp on the victory with a laser down the line on match point.

Wooldridge collected a team-high eight kills along with eight digs and two blocks for the Knightettes. Bess made 10 digs and served nine points while matching Hooss with seven kills. Johnson added four kills, while Mandy Bieser notched nine digs. Brenna Noble racked up 13 assists, and Becky Weaver had 11 along with eight points.

Dickey netted six kills and three blocks for Potosi. McGirl added four kills and four digs, and Mims dished out 11 assists. Katie Gillam served three points and made three digs, while Jordan Simpson had two kills.

The Lady Trojans will play Bismarck today in the tournament's third-place match.

Valle 26-24, 25-14, Bismarck

The second-seeded Valle Lady Warriors solidified their status as the top team in the MAAA Small-School division by defeating their perennial rivals for the third time this season in the second semi-final match played on Wednesday.

Valle (25-3) survived a tremendous comeback attempt from third-seeded Bismarck in game one, before dismantling the Lady Indians in the second stanza for a 26-24, 25-14 win.

Game one quickly developed into the typical display of power and defense expected between the teams. Stephanie Politte gave Bismarck an early lead with a loud stuff-block, only to see Hannah Jokerst respond with a hard kill for Valle.

The Lady Warriors moved ahead 6-4 on a kill from Sarah Bova and an ace by Kara Schilli, but Bismarck answered with five straight points, highlighted by an unexpected set over the net by Chelsey Morris following a great dig from Karah Faulkner. Bismarck (22-4-4) carried a promising 10-7 lead in game one, but Valle promptly reversed the momentum with a lengthy scoring streak.

Crystal Tucker served eight consecutive points while her teammates unleashed a series of scoring attacks at the net. Jokerst followed a kill from Sara Hermann with two more of her own to give Valle a sizable 16-10 advantage.

The rally did not faze the Lady Indians, who immediately fought back with their longest scoring run of the contest. Valle misfired on two back-line passes, then sent two attacks into the net. Faulkner capped the seven-point barrage with two straight kills as Bismarck regained the lead at 18-17.

Schilli fired back on the next point with a kill, and asserted herself more at the net as game one neared its ending. Valle moved ahead 21-18 on back-to-back kills from Schilli and Angie Herzog, and eventually built a 24-19 lead, needing just one point to close out the game.

Faulkner dropped a clutch spike to the floor to keep the Lady Indians alive. After a missed attack and a lift call against Valle, Chelsey Politte turned a bad pass into a clutch kill, making the score 24-23. Valle sent the ball into the net to even the score, setting up the most pivotal and exciting point of the entire match.

The ball changed sides at least a dozen times, only because of several incredible, desperation digs from both teams. After a series of wild scrambles, Valle finally managed to calmly set Schilli, and she delivered a blistering kill from the middle. Bismarck mishandled the ensuing serve, and the Lady Warriors celebrated the game one win.

The Lady Indians were never able to rebound physically or mentally in game two, scoring just three points on serve. Valle saw its lead balloon to 14-5 as Bismarck was plagued by miscommunication and several routine miscues.

Successful kills from Hermann and Jokerst pushed Valle closer to victory at 17-8, and the difference reached double digits at 23-13 on a late spike down the line from Herzog. Three points later, setter Kayla Schweiss dropped a quick set into an open space on the Bismarck side to seal the win.

Schilli posted team-highs of 11 kills and nine digs, and also served seven points with two aces for Valle. Schweiss racked up 24 assists with six digs. Tucker served nine points and made five digs.

The Lady Warriors also received major all-around contributions from Herzog and Jokerst. Herzog finished with five kills, eight digs and 13 serve receptions, while Jokerst tallied six kills and seven digs, along with eight points and seven receptions.

Morris dealt out 12 assists and served seven points for Bismarck. Faulkner compiled 10 kills and Chelsey Politte added five. Sarah Fisher made six digs.