St. Vincent spikers advance to state semis

CLARKTON, Mo. -- Playing in close games with its season on the line has become second nature for the St. Vincent volleyball team.

The Indians survived a wild three-set match against Leopold on Tuesday in the district championship.

St. Vincent dropped the first set but came back to win the next two in dramatic fashion against the Wildcats.

Saturday's Class 1 quarterfinal was no different for St. Vincent, which played to nine ties in the first set against Bernie.

St. Vincent's experience proved to be the difference maker as the Indians defeated Bernie in straight sets 25-21, 25-16 in a Class 1 quarterfinal on Saturday at Clarkton High School.

"I can't even describe the feeling, it's so awesome," First-year St. Vincent coach Cindy Cissel said. "I've been through it as a parent when my daughter won with St. Vincent and it's pretty much the same, but to work with these girls all year and get this far is something totally different and amazing. I will never get tired of winning."

Neither team had a lead of more than two points until the Indians took an 18-15 lead late in the first set.

St. Vincent's three-point lead prompted Bernie coach Erin Hoffman to call a timeout.

Hoffman said her team was out of sync in the first set after winning a thriller against Bismarck in an earlier quarterfinal.

Bernie split the first two sets and trailed by as many as eight points in the third set against Bismarck. The Mules scored the final ten points of the set to advance.

"I think we were just tired," Hoffman said after Bernie's loss to St. Vincent in a Class 1 sectional. "St. Vincent has some great hitters. They really worked our defense over pretty good and our offense was a little bit lacking. I called the timeout to hold off some momentum."

The timeout didn't slow down St. Vincent junior Katie Verseman, who responded with two straight kills to extend the lead to 20-15.

Bernie went on a 6-3 run to pull the Mules within two at 23-21. Bernie sophomore Kayli Tanner had two blocks and three kills during that span, but after a St. Vincent timeout, Katie Verseman hit another kill and a Bernie error gave the Indians a the first sest.

"It was so hard to maintain focus, but this team is battle-tested," Katie Verseman said. "We were ready for anything they threw at us, we weren't going to let anything hit the floor and we were doing our job and playing our position."

Katie Verseman finished with 11 kills to lead St. Vincent.

Cissel said she told her team to prevent Bernie from tipping the ball over the net early in the match.

"That was a big part of our success and we've talked about that all week," Cissel said. "I told them, 'Do not let them beat you with tips,' I was fine with whatever else they did because I knew if they played like they have been playing and eliminated that we would win."

The Indians never trailed in the final set and got off to an early lead, thanks to three straight kills by St. Vincent freshman Jackie Verseman, which gave the Indians an 8-4 lead.

"It's pretty cool, I never expected to be in this position as a freshman," Jackie Verseman said. "This game wasn't easy by any means, but we had the mindset that this game could be ours if we just stuck to our gameplan."

After a Bernie timeout, the Indians went on a 12-7 run to extend their lead to 20-11, their largest of the set.

The Mules got within seven points at 23-15, but two straight kills by Delia Lowman sent St. Vincent to its first state final four appearance since 2007.

The Indians finished second in state that year, after losing to Stockton in straight sets.

St. Vincent will face Class 1 powerhouse Winona at the Show Me Center next Friday.

Lowman had seven kills for the Indians, while Jackie Verseman and Kassidy Kassel added five kills apiece. Katie Verseman led the Indians with eight digs and Kellie L'Hote had 12 assists.

Cissel said she's confident St. Vincent can overcome anything thrown its way after a crazy week.

"When you get to that point everyone is going to be at their best," Cissel said. "Win, lose or draw it doesn't matter because we got there, but this team is ready for a challenge, they've already been challenged and they've exceeded my expectations. I couldn't be more proud of this team and I'm looking for more good things ahead."