St. Vincent rallies past Leopold in district volleyball final

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- It was probably the most important set point of Kellie L'Hote's life, and she didn't even know it.

Her St. Vincent teammates did, though. And now they won't let her forget it.

L'Hote's ace serve on game and match point rallied the Indians to a 27-25 victory over Leopold in the deciding game of Tuesday's Class 1 District 3 volleyball championship at St. Vincent High School.

"I did not know it was game point," L'Hote, the Indians' senior setter, said. "I was like, 'Yeah, we got a point!' And then everyone started hitting me. It was awesome."

L'Hote's serve found an opening between Leopold's front and back lines in the center of the court. The Wildcats' Klara Beel dived in an attempt to save the point, but the ball bounced off her clenched fist and flew under the net for the deciding point in St. Vincent's 23-25, 27-25, 27-25 win.

St. Vincent’s Kathryn Verseman spikes around Leopold’s Caitlin Petty during the first set of the Class 1 District 3 championship match Tuesday.

It culminated a rally that saw the Indians (25-9) rally from deficits of 8-0, 10-5, 16-10 and 19-14 in the final game.

"They've kind of been doing that all year long," first-year St. Vincent coach Cindy Cissell said. "They started believing in themselves, and no mountain was ever too high for them. We've already been down by 11 in certain matches and they came back to win the game."

L'Hote said it was a matter of just staying true to what got St. Vincent to that point in the first place. The second-seeded Indians swept Greenville 25-12, 15-8 earlier Tuesday to earn a spot in the district final.

"(Coach Cissell) said to stay in your spot and do what you do," L'Hote said. "It's all about what's in your heart. We just dug deep and we knew we had nothing to lose. We just laid it all out on the court."

St. Vincent not only had to overcome a first-game loss to Leopold, who finished second at last year's Class 1 state tournament, they also had to defend against the Wildcats' outstanding middle hitting duo of seniors Caitlyn Petty and Bailee Cope, who torched the Indians for 37 kills over the three games.

Leopold’s Caitlin Petty bumps the ball against St. Vincent during the first set of the Class 1 District 3 championship match Tuesday in Perryville, Missouri.

"They're going to get those," Cissell said. "We've got five all-around good hitters. They've got two. I'm not saying that their other hitters aren't good because they are, but they got two that they live and die on. And I would, too, if I had them. But we've got five. And last time I checked, five outnumbers two."

Cope led all hitters with 20 kills, while Petty added 17. The next-highest for the Wildcats was senior Ashlyn Bucher with nine. No other Leopold hitter had more than one kill.

"I just wanted to get up against her and put it down," said St. Vincent middle hitter Kathryn Verseman, who drew the assignment of going up against Cope one-on-one as the Indians decided against double-blocking at the net. "Just one at a time. They had two hitters, but we had five on the court the whole time. I was positive the whole time."

St. Vincent dug itself a hole with a 25-23 loss in the first game, a game it led at one point 11-4. The Indians led 17-10 in game two only to see the Wildcats (25-4) claw back to within 19-17. Cope had kills for the final seven Leopold points in the game, but her hit into the net on set point gave the set to the Indians, forcing a deciding third set.

An opening 8-0 Leopold run, featuring two kills and a stuff block from Cope, had the Indians on their heels.

But two kills from both Kathryn Verseman and freshman outside hitter Jackie Verseman fueled a 10-5 run that brought the Indians within 13-10.

"That happens," Leopold coach Sandy Davis said. "Just like the first set, we were down 11-2 or something like that, and they came back. That's part of it. You never know. The momentum can change in a second."

Leopold stretched its lead out to five points at 20-15 before St. Vincent made its move. A kill from junior outside hitter Delia Lowman (12 kills, 10 digs) and another from Kathryn Verseman made it 23-21 Leopold. Following a timeout, Bucher's tip kill gave Leopold a match point at 24-21.

But another Kathryn Verseman kill, followed by a long hit out-of-bounds pulled St. Vincent within 24-23. Still facing match point, Lowman spiked a ball through a double block at the middle of the net for a point that tied the game at 24.

A tip kill from sophomore middle hitter Faith Kapp gave St. Vincent a game point at 25-24, but Petty's spike from the middle knotted the score at 25. A long hit out of bounds from Cope then set up L'Hote's game-winning serve.

Leopold has won a district title in 11 of the past 13 season, with St. Vincent the being the only team to thwart the Wildcats. The Indians also beat Leopold in the semifinal round in 2012.

"I just knew we had to fight point by point," said Lowman about the Indians' comeback in the final game. "We had to fight for each single point."

Lowman was one of two Indians, along with Kathryn Verseman, named to the All-District team. They were joined by Petty, Cope, Seiler and Leah Landewee from Leopold; and Samantha Rainwater from Greenville.

Rounding out the second team was L'Hote, Linsey Walk of Greenville, Emma Cook and Morgan Politte from Meadow Heights; Jennifer Pullam from Zalma; and Chelsea Seyer from Oak Ridge.