St. Vincent's comebacks lead to shot at state title

~ Class 2 volleyball final will pair the Indians against Stockton.

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- St. Vincent outside hitter Brooke Brown said her team's 30-5-3 record might not indicate it, but the Indians fell behind in quite a few matches this season and had to battle back for victories.

She added that the seniors, who have been playing together since junior high school, have always had a fair share of comeback wins.

"That's how we've always played since we were little kids," Brown said. "We would dig ourselves a hole and we'd just have to come back out of it."

The Indians dug themselves out of three holes at the Class 2 state tournament Friday to reach today's championship match. St. Vincent and Stockton, which the Indians defeated twice Friday, will duel for the championship at noon at the UCM Multipurpose Building.

St. Vincent junior Sarah DeWilde blocked a set by Stockton's Ivy Smithson during Friday's Class 2 pool play at the state volleyball tournament in Warrensburg, Mo. (MSHSAA/Columbia photo)

In the first game against Stockton, the Indians fell behind 24-22 with the Tigers serving for the win.

"We knew we could come back," Brown said. "When we were down we said we just had to keep fighting, and that's what we did."

St. Vincent certainly did, erasing the two-point Tigers lead and later winning 28-26. That was a sign of things to come the rest of the day.

The Indians would later erase deficits of as many as seven points late in games to finish with a 5-1 record in the tournament's first-day, round-robin semifinal.

Brown had a lot to do with the comebacks.

St. Vincent junior Sarah DeWilde blocked a show during Friday's Class 2 pool play at the state tournament in Warrensburg, Mo. (MSHSAA/Columbia photo)

The round-robin consists of each of the final four teams playing one another twice, with the two teams with the best overall record earning a berth to play for the championship. The Indians earned the top seed, followed by Stockton, which lost its two opening games against the Indians but battled back to win four straight against the other two teams to finish 4-2.

After the sweep of Stockton, Brown led a comeback in the next match against Pierce City. With St. Vincent down 18-15 in the first game, she dropped her body to the court to dig a ball that appeared to be an easy kill and a four-point lead for the Eagles.

"I'm usually always [down] on the court," Brown said. "When we play defense like that it keeps the momentum going, and we can get a good hit after that."

Brown kept the ball in play and the Indians eventually won the point to make it a manageable two-point deficit.

"She is very aggressive out on the line," first-year St. Vincent coach Mindy House said of Brown. "She always gives 110 percent. If she can get to that ball, she's going to put her body on the floor and she's going to go and get it."

St. Vincent's Lacey Siegmund (6) and Sarah DeWilde went up for a block while teammate Kelsey Cissell (5) readied for a dig during Friday's Class 2 pool play at the state tournament in Warrensburg, Mo. (MSHSAA/Columbia photo)

The Indians, who trailed by six points at one point, went on to win the game 29-27, then took the next one 25-22. In the second game against Pierce City, the Indians trailed by scores of 20-13 and 21-15.

Brown had four kills and seven digs against Pierce City. She had 14 kills and 20 digs in the three matches combined.

"She [Brown] really has good defense, and she really has the heart to not let a ball drop," outside hitter Courtney Besand said. "She wants to get every ball."

St. Vincent then split a match with Hermann 25-22, 9-25 to finish 5-1.

Sarah DeWilde chipped in with 15 kills and 13 digs and Lacey Siegmund had 11 kills and 23 digs over the three matches combined. Sara Moll added 32 digs.

"We were trying to keep our intensity up and keep on our toes," Moll said about playing from behind. "With it being so close, it helped us with that, too. We had to always be moving because one point is the difference for a match. It just kind of got to be within everyone to keep our cool and stay confident and just stop, slow down and control it.