Perryville volleyball team will play at Show Me Center in final four

Editor's note: This story has been edited to reflect the correct name of Perryville sophomore Alex Spears

ST. LOUIS -- The Perryville volleyball team set a school record for wins in a season Saturday with a 25-18, 25-21 victory over De Soto in a Class 3 sectional contest at Lutheran South.

But that was only the opening act for what proved to be an historic main event as the Pirates followed with a thrilling 21-25, 25-23, 25-23 victory over Lutheran South in the quarterfinals.

That win, their 32nd of the season, moves the Pirates to the state semifinals at the Show Me Center next weekend. It is the first trip to the final four for Perryville, which lost in three games to Lutheran South in last year's sectional round.

"This is awesome," Perryville sophomore Alex Spears said. "Everybody said that we were not big enough, but we pushed ourselves all year and then got a chance to revenge today against Lutheran South. We wanted this so bad. Last year our summer T-shirts had the date of Nov. 2 and 3 on it."

Those are the days of the state tournament, and that is where the Pirates will be with their rowdy fans.

"I worked these girls so hard," Pirates coach David Mirly said. "I wanted to do everything I could to prepare them for situations like this. They were either going to hate me or be mentally tough."

And the Pirates, who are certainly not the most physically intimidating team around, showed that mental grit and determination against a much bigger and experienced Lancers team, that finished third in Class 3 last year.

"We are probably going to be the shortest team at the state tournament," Mirly said. "But we find ways to win. They were everywhere defensively today."

Lutheran South came out strong and seemed in control after winning the first game and taking a 5-1 lead in the second game. But the Pirates battled back and won the second game with the help of some big plays late by Spears, who closed out the game with a block.

Spears opened the third game with a kill, but once again the Pirates found themselves in an early hole. Perryville trailed most of the third game and looked to be in serious trouble when the Lancers took a 20-16 lead. The Pirates were five points away from having their dream season ended.

"Things did not look good at that point, especially with No. 12 [six-foot Claire Luther] in the front row for them," Mirly said. "We had done most of our damage when she was in the back row. I knew we would have to battle as hard as we could."

Perryville battled back with the help of some mistakes by the Lancers and were one point away from history after a combination block by seniors Natalie Gremaud and Lauren Buxton.

Luther made things interesting for the Lancers with a pair of kills to cut the Perryville lead to 24-23. But junior Kaylie Hadler put down her team-high 11th kill on their third championship point to send the green-clad crowd into a frenzy.

"It is hard to find words to describe this feeling," Gremaud said. "Every girl on this team came into every practice with so much heart and determination. We know we are not the biggest team around, but we have shown that heart goes a long way. It doesn't matter if we are down by five points or down by 10 points. We are going to fight and swing hard."

The team was in a celebratory mood as a team photo was taken, and then another with some of their classmates and young fans.

But there is still some unfinished business left for the Pirates.

"We had a huge win against Notre Dame to win districts, and today was so special," Mirly said. "But this was not our goal at the beginning of the season. We want to make another statement."

Gremaud, who had a team-high 21 kills on the day and nine in the quarterfinal match, is thrilled that her stellar high school career has been extended.

"This was awesome, but we are not stopping here," Gremaud said. "We are still hungry. We want to go out with a bang."

Libbi Schnurbusch led the defensive effort in the quarterfinals with 16 digs, while Brooke Moll had nine. Buxton finished with three blocks.

Kaitlyn Ellsworth had four blocks in the sectional victory, while Ashley Bachman had 16 assists.