GROTON – Aberdeen Roncalli turned a shaky start into a strong finish Thursday night.
The Cavaliers dropped the opening set before rebounding for a 26-28, 26-24, 25-20, 25-16 win over Webster during Region 1A volleyball action.
Roncalli now advances to take on fellow Northeast Conference foe Clark-Willow Lake in the SoDak 16 on Tuesday.
The Bearcats jumped out to a 7-1 advantage to start the match against the Cavaliers.
“I think that set one, we got very, very inside our heads and very, very frazzled. Their audience was very loud and the girls just weren’t playing our kind of Roncalli volleyball,” said Cavaliers coach Leesa Ware. “We just got inside our heads. I told the girls, ‘I was like take a deep breath and settle down.’”
While Roncalli eventually battled back, they ended up losing the set in extra points.
“I think we just got intimidated. I think our mentality was if we lose it’s over, instead of, let’s just keep playing to win this game,” said Roncalli senior Rylee Voeller. “And then we pushed and we got back up and we got into the 25-range, and we were all so scared that like no one was swinging hard and it was all of us.”
On the other side of the court, the Bearcats were able to keep their composure to assist them in winning the extra points.
“We talked in the huddle and out on the court just you know, doing your job, sticking to your job,” said Webster coach Emily Wagner. “Focusing on what you need to do for the one or the two points, and just finish out one point, what do I need to do and get in that point.”
While Webster had the momentum following the opening set, the Bearcats weren’t able to keep it, losing a late lead in the second set to even the match.
“You just have to stay focused. When you win a set like that, it boosts your momentum for the rest of the game. And unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for us,” said Webster senior Madison Block. “But we went into the second set, we were ready to go. We had our eyes on the prize, but we didn’t quite get there.”
Voeller, who finished with 15 kills, had five kills in the second set to help Roncalli level the match.
“Well, I looked at my best friend Grace (Cogley) and I thought, ‘This cannot be my last game playing with her,’” said Voeller. “Just give everything you got, like we have nothing to lose. And I kind of just thought to myself, just be a smart player. I don’t need to get all those 10-foot kills, but be a smart player, get those open zones, get rolling.”
Voeller credited her back line and coaches for knowing where to hit the ball on the other side of the net.
“I give full credit to my back row. I have three amazing players back there telling me where to hit and even if they’re just like ‘Tip!’ I’m always looking like what’s open,” Voeller said. “Also, just having our coaches be like ‘What’s open?’, just swinging those smart shots.”
Roncalli held a 13-10 lead before Mallory Steiner scored five of the next seven points for the Bearcats to give them a lead 17-13. In that frame, she killed the 12th point, blocked the 14th and 15th points, and killed the 16th and 17th.
“I gotta give props to Mallory. She played middle basically this entire year, and then the last four, five, six games, we switched her to outside and she didn’t complain once,” said Wagner. “She figured it out, and she rolled with it. She put in a good effort. The girls really look up to her as a leader on and off the court.”
The Cavaliers relied on their wide variety of attackers to find success in the latter half of the match with five girls recording a kill in both the third and fourth sets.
“There wasn’t one player that had an off night tonight. I thought that it didn’t matter if it was our bench, if it was just our starters,” Ware said. “Everybody was on tonight and everyone contributed.”
Although Roncalli extended its lead in the final two sets, individual points were tightly contested and could have gone either way. It was the scrappy Roncalli defense that helped the Cavaliers win those long rallies.
“I turned to my coaches, that last set, Roncalli was getting really scrappy and they were getting up some of those balls where I was like ‘Oh, I thought we would’ve got that point,’” said Wagner. “Those long rallies, and then you know the energy and the excitement really kind of takes it out of you.”
Even though Webster trailed for the majority of the last two sets, Block kept producing to close out her prep career on a strong note.
“I was feeling good. I felt like I had a pretty good game today and still, even though it didn’t turn out the way we wanted, I’m proud of how I did and I’m proud of how my teammates did,” Block said. “I just know as a captain, I have to be the one that lifts my team up. I can’t be the one to get down.”
Block reflected on her final match, and she said she’ll miss the little things.
“My favorite part is my water girl Millie (Kvernevig). I love her and I’m gonna miss her a lot,” Block said. “I’m gonna miss everything. I’ve had so much fun with them. … Our team is so close, we do everything together.”
When the final whistle blew as the ball hit the floor, the Roncalli crowd erupted in cheers.
“It doesn’t matter how far away the game is. We always have an amazing crowd and we have so much support right there,” said Voeller. “It feels awesome knowing that we have that whole crowd behind us.”
Serving: Aberdeen Roncalli (Cambry Feickert 3 aces, Rylee Voeller 1 ace, Grace Cogley 1 ace).
Hitting: Aberdeen Roncalli (Voeller 15 kills, Gabby Thomas 14 kills, Jill Ellwein 13 kills, Cogley 8 kills).
Setting: Aberdeen Roncalli (Elyana Roach 43 assists).
Digs: Aberdeen Roncalli (Voeller 27, Feickert 21, Morgan Helms 17).
Blocks: Aberdeen Roncalli (Thomas 2 solo 2 assists, Cogley 2 solo, Karsyn Davis 1 solo 2 assists).
Records: Webster 15-10; Aberdeen Roncalli 18-11.
