REGIONAL FINAL BREAKDOWN: Looking at each regional volleyball final for area teams
Oct. 27—Six area volleyball teams advanced to their respective regional championship matches after semifinal victories on Tuesday and Wednesday.
St. Anthony, Newton, Cumberland, South Central, North Clay, and Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg are all looking to capture regional titles — all of which take place tonight at 6 p.m.
Below is the skinny on each matchup.
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(1) ST. ANTHONY versus (6) CUMBERLAND
The Bulldogs blew by National Trail Conference foe Neoga in a Class 1A semifinal on Wednesday night at Oblong High School to advance to the title match.
St. Anthony won the first set 25-14 and the second 25-14.
Anna Faber finished with one block and 18 assists. Andrea Rudolphi had three kills, two aces, and one block. Abbi Hatton had four kills and one ace. Lucy Fearday had nine kills, three blocks, and one assist. Maddie Kibler had one kill. Anna Niemeyer had three kills, and Sophia Seagle had two kills, three aces, and one assist.
As for the Lady Pirates, they defeated the hosts 27-25 in the first set and 25-21 in the second to reach the finals.
"This group is good about persevering through the game," Cumberland head coach Kylee Booth said. "They don't roll over when a team gets the lead; they dig in and try to fight back for that, and they've done a nice job of that this season and I was proud of them for doing that tonight."
Kennedy Stults finished the match with eight kills and one block. McKenzie Matteson had one block and one dig. Suzy Fritts had two aces. Emi Stierwalt had 17 assists, one block, and eight digs. Isabel Martinez had one assist and five digs. Katelyn Shoemaker had three kills and three blocks. Chaney Thornton had one ace and eight digs. Ashton Coleman had two kills, and Jadalyn Sowers had one assist and seven digs.
However, the star of the night was senior Kendyn Syfert.
Syfert finished with 11 kills, three aces, and six digs. She broke the Cumberland record for kills — originally set by Jodi Vogt in 2004 — during the match, too.
"It feels really good, and I'm thankful for Emi, my setter," said Syfert on breaking the record. "Going into the season, I didn't think it was possible and hadn't looked at the record, but I'm happy I did it."
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(1) NEWTON versus (4) PANA
Defense led the way for Newton in its straight-set victory over Little Illini Conference rival Lawrenceville on Tuesday night at Salem High School.
The Lady Eagles (28-8) finished with 11 blocked shots and 28 digs in Newton's 25-18, 25-13 victory.
Faith Shull had four blocks with four kills and one dig. Lilly Kessler had four blocks with three kills, and Paige Zumbahlen had three blocks with two kills and one dig.
Meanwhile, Cierrah Utley had two digs and two aces. Brooke Schafer had two digs, two aces, one kill, and 14 assists. Gracie Smithenry had one dig and four kills. Emma Rauch had six digs and two kills. Laney Hemrich had one dig and one assist. Elley Bennett had nine digs, and Camryn Martin had three digs.
"I have coached volleyball for a few years, so to say that we've done this before; we have done this before," Newton head coach Jill Kistner said. "I expected us to come out a little bit slow, and when you're the No. 1 seed, the pressure is on you, and when you're playing a team that has absolutely nothing to lose; they go out, and they play loose, and they play relaxed, and that's what Lawrenceville did.
"We were nervous and tight, and it took a little bit to get going. I know our offense never got going, but our block and our defense showed up tonight."
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(2) SOUTH CENTRAL versus (3) NORTH CLAY
North Clay and South Central have met twice this season, with the Lady Cougars winning both prior matchups.
South Central took the first meeting (25-21, 25-16) and the second meeting (25-19, 27-25).
Both teams will now face each other with a regional championship on the line.
The Lady Cougars defeated St. Elmo-Brownstown in straight sets on Wednesday to advance to the championship.
South Central won the first set 25-13 and the second 25-11.
Sierra Arnold had 14 digs. Olivia Brauer had one kill, 14 assists, and five digs. Brooklyn Garrett had four kills and 13 digs. Sidney Shumate had seven assists and two digs. Emma Chambers had one kill. Brooke Cowger had 10 kills, three digs, and two blocks. Emma Jenne had eight kills and two blocks. Rayna Hall had two aces, and Emma Runge had one dig.
Meanwhile, North Clay defeated Patoka-Odin (25-19, 25-17) in their semifinal to advance.
Kyia Cone finished with seven kills, one block, and seven digs. Miah Ballard had five kills and eight digs. Maggie Etheridge had five kills and five digs. Allison Czyzewski had five kills, one ace, and five digs. Camdyn Tappendorf had three kills, nine digs, and 20 assists. Callie Johnson had one kill, one ace, and 14 digs. Sydney Kincaid had six digs. Rachela Sanzullo had four digs, and Matia Price had two digs.
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(2) BETHANY OKAW VALLEY versus (3) WINDSOR-STEWARDSON-STRASBURG
Windsor-Stewardson-Strasburg is eyeing a seventh-straight regional championship since Windsor and Stewardson-Strasburg became a cooperative school in 2015.
To do that, the Hatchets (27-9) will have to defeat second-seeded Bethany Okaw Valley, who beat Tri-County (25-21, 25-22) to advance to the championship.
WSS defeated Broadlands Heritage to reach the regional finals, winning the match 25-23, 25-19.
Ella Kinkelaar had one ace, five kills, 21 assists, seven digs, and one block. Gabby Vonderheide had three kills, one assist, and seven digs. Halle Moomaw had two aces, 12 kills, and one block. Kinley Quast had three aces, one kill, four assists, and 15 digs. Samantha Hayes had one ace, two kills, and five digs. Kaylynn Carey had four kills and two blocks. Ainslie Eident had four digs. Reese Bennett had one kill. Anna Albert had one dig, and Mary Vonderheide had one dig.
Contact EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.
