Seasons Ends With Sub-State Loss
The high school volleyball season ended Saturday, October 22, at the Sub-State Tournament in Quinter. St. Francis lost 1-2 to Quinter in the semi-final round of the tournament. The loss ended the Lady Indians season and advanced Quinter to the Sub-State championship match where they were defeated by Dighton. With a 25-23, 25-13 win over Quitner, Dighton advanced to the 1A - Division 1 State Tournament in Hays on October 28 and 29.
St. Francis and Quinter had split their matches during the year, and this match-up was very close as well. Quinter easily won the first set, as the Lady Indians did not play especially well. Playing on their home floor with a loud supporting crowd seemed to help the Lady Bulldogs start well. Quinter earned five runs of three or more points during set one, while the Lady Indians could not find enough consistency to earn any. The Lady Indians opened the set with a missed serve and trailed 0-3 before a kill by Hanna Bracelin placed them on the scoreboard. Sarah Bird nailed an explosive kill for the Lady Bulldogs that started a four-point run extending the Quinter lead to 2-7. A missed serve stopped the momentum for a moment, but kills by Quinter's Kylie Crist and Tayna Brooks extended the deficit to 3-9. Bracelin's deep tip was followed by a stuff-block by Jessica Confer narrowing the spread (5-9). Another three-point Quinter run widened the deficit to 8-15. Consecutive Lady Indian miscues triggered a St. Francis time-out at 9-17. A Bracelin tip-kill and a Quinter attack error narrowed the margin to six (11-17), but then Quinter earned two four-point runs and closed the match on an over-pass kill by Brooks. Quinter won set one, 13-25.
The Lady Indians played much better in sets two and three. Four missed serves in the set by the Lady Bulldogs also helped. St. Francis led 3-1 after a Quinter missed serve was followed by a tip-kill by Hanna Bracelin and a stuff by Lindsey Johnson. Bird's kill ended the St. Francis run at three points, but then the Lady Dawgs missed another serve. Lindsey's second stuff on Quinter's 5' 10" Peyton Havlas moved the score to 5-2. Quinter pulled within one (5-4) before missing another serve. Two Lady Indian attack errors kept Quinter in the match (7-5). After Quinter missed their fourth service attempt, three St. Francis hitting errors tied the match at 8-all. A kill by Jessica Confer gave St. Francis a 10-8 advantage, but soon the set became tied again. Another Confer kill gave the Lady Indians a narrow 11-10 lead. A tip by Bird was followed by a kill by Havlas, and St. Francis trailed for the first time in game two. The set would be tied at 12, 13, and 14 before Quinter's next three-point run (Brooks kill, SF passing error, SF attack error) placed the Lady Indians in survival mode. Trailing 14-17, the Lady Indians received a kill (off a block) by Hanna Bracelin. Havlas answered with a kill for Quinter. When a back-row attack landed in the net, the Lady Indians dropped to a four-point deficit (15-19). St. Francis kept fighting and earned a stuff by Confer. Unfortunately, the Lady Indians missed their service attempt (16-20). The Lady Indians then earned a four-point run behind consistent serves by Taighe Weeter and triggered by a Confer tip and three Quinter attack errors to tie the match at 20 all. After a Quinter time-out, St. Francis re-took the lead (21-20) on an extended volley that included a block by Zoe Sundstrom and a back-row attack by Madi Tice. The next volley also resulted in a St. Francis score after a outstanding dig by Lauren Johnson eventually lead to a Sundstrom kill. Quinter used their final time-out trailing 22-20. St. Francis closed the set with a four-point run, only their second run of the match. Two Quinter attack errors were followed by a Confer ace and a final Sundstrom kill. St. Francis won game two 25-21. The outcome of the match was very much in doubt, only to be decided in the final volleys of set three. An ace by Quinter's Brittney Walt gave the Lady Bulldogs an early 0-2 lead. St. Francis tied the match on two Quinter miscues before a powerful kill by Peyton Havlas put Quinter back in front. St. Francis advanced to 3-4 but then missed a serve. A tip into the middle of the Quinter defense by Hanna Bracelin and a Havlas attack error tied the match at 5-all. St. Francis took a short-lived lead (7-5) on a tip by Jessica Confer and ace (off-the-net) by Bracelin. Havlas smashed another spike, but Confer answered with a well-placed tip. A four-point run put Quinter back in front. The run included two kills by Tanya Brooks and two SF errors (8-10). After a St. Francis time-out, the Lady Indians scored, but then Quinter earned a three-point run on a kill by Sarah Bird and two Lady Indian miscues. The deficit grew to 9-13. In the next few volleys, a stuff by Zoe Sundstrom and two kills by Bracelin closed the gap to 13-14. After an extended volley, Quinter's Havlas scored with another aggressive kill. Havlas followed with a tip-kill placing St. Francis at a 13-16 disadvantage. Three consecutive missed serves, two by Quinter and one by St. Francis, were followed by a Lady Indian passing error and attack error. The Lady Indians fell behind 15-19. After a time-out to regroup, the Lady Indians earned a four-point run behind Taighe Weeter's steady serving to tie the game at 19-all. In the run, Sundstrom and Confer each earned kills and Weeter served a tying ace. Quinter called time-out, and returned to the floor to earn a kill by Sarah Bird. When the Indians were called for four-hits on the next volley, the Lady Bulldogs led 19-21. Sundstrom ended the next volley with a kill, but Quinter scored on a diagonal spike cross-court kill. Two strong serves by Lauren Johnson resulted in two Quinter attacks landing in the net to tie the match at 22-all. The winner was soon to be determined. Bird smashed a powerful kill to the floor on the next volley, but the Lady Dawgs hit out-of-bounds on the following volley (23-all). Consecutive Quinter kills completed the match with a powerful slam by Havlas ending the Lady Indians' hopes of playing in the Sub-State championship match.
With the loss, the Lady Indians' season ends. The Lady Indians earned a season record of 17-17.
Click the photos to see more photos!
