Bismarck upsets St. Vincent volleyball team in Class 1 sectional

BERNIE, Mo. -- The St. Vincent volleyball team suffered a season-ending loss, falling 25-15, 25-20 to the Bismarck in a Class 1 sectional Saturday at Bernie.

"Bismarck played excellent," Indians coach Cindy Cissell said. "We didn't seem to be on our game tonight, but that happens. It just happened at the wrong time. We had been playing well. There are no excuses, but one of our middle hitters has been sick and could only practice one day this week, and we also had an outside hitter go down with a sprained ankle yesterday. And she was all taped up today. But that's no excuse.

"They gave it their all and that was all they had today to give so I'm very proud of them, and they have nothing to hang their heads about."

The first set was tied at 8-all. Bismarck scored the next four points to move ahead 12-8, quickly extended its advantage to 20-12 and never trailing after.

"We came out on fire, which is what we wanted to do," Bismarck coach Paula AuBuchon said. "We knew St. Vincent was probably the toughest team we had played in a sectional in many, many years, so I was really happy with the way the kids played. They had a lot of energy, enthusiasm and seemed very determined today."

St. Vincent's Katie Verseman hits the ball against Bismarck defenders during a Class 1 sectional Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015 in Bernie, Missouri. (JOHN PAUL HALFORD)

Bismarck built a 14-6 lead in the second set before St. Vincent followed with six straight points to force a timeout.

"They played hard with a never-die attitude all year," Cissell said.

Bismarck increased its lead as large as 21-16 after the timeout.

A kill by St. Vincent senior outside hitter Kassidy Kassel cut the deficit to 23-20, but Bismarck scored the next two points on attack errors to end the match.

"We really respect St. Vincent," AuBuchon said. "They are an extremely good volleyball club and town. Coach Cissell has done amazing things with them, and they went to the final four out of our sectional last year. I thought those kids played their hearts out, and it was just our day today."

Bismarck middle hitters Brylee Henson and Kayla Johnston both recorded six kills. Henson had a pair of stuffed blocks in the second set.

"We are predominantly middle, and they were predominantly outside," AuBuchon said. "When your offense is split like that, a good middle can really do damage, and our middles really took over."

Kassel paced St. Vincent's offense with nine kills. Sophomore outside hitter Jackie Verseman added five more kills, and senior middle hitter Katie Verseman finished with four kills.

Bismarck revenged a 25-21, 25-23 regular-season loss to St. Vincent with the playoff win.

"We played at the SEMO Tournament," AuBuchon said. "The only adjustment we made was getting two starters back. We were missing two of our hitters. Getting them back was big, and we felt like if we could get them back we would be OK."

St. Vincent wrapped up its season with a record of 24-8-3.

St. Vincent graduates Kassel, Katie Verseman, Delia Lowman and Karly Huber.

"These four girls will be dearly missed," Cissell said. "They've had so much experience and have taught the younger ones so much. I had two sophomores and a freshman out there playing, and they helped them along. We are old but also young. I'm proud of them, and they have no reason to hang their heads."