NORFOLK — With everything on the line, Elgin Public-Pope John appeared “off-line” for the first two sets against Elkhorn Valley. Beginning in Set #3, the Wolfpack came back on line and won the final three sets to keep their postseason dreams alive.
Playing in the finals of the D1-7 Sub-district, EPPJ defeated the Lady Falcons 21-25, 13-25, 25-17, 25-16 and 15-12. It marked the second time in less than a week that the Wolfpack defeated Elkhorn Valley.
For players, coaches, family and fans alike, it must have felt like a “re-run” as the match was eerily similar to the one played Friday night.
View coaches, players comments here Volleyball coach, players comment post-game
Down two sets to none, the teams were tied at 15-all when EPPJ seized momentum, outscoring their opponent 10 to 2. Junior Haley Zegers had three kills, Kayce Kallhoff had one kill and an ace serve and Kaylee Martinsen closed out the set with a kill.
The fourth set played out the same way as the teams were tied at 12-all when the Wolfpack pulled away behind the front row play of Kallhoff, Zegers and Martinsen. Senior Grace Rittscher had six service points in the run and Ally Wemhoff racked up multiple set assists.
In the decisive fifth set, EPPJ tied the score at 4-all on an overpass kill by Martinsen, then took the lead for good on back-to-back net violation by the Lady Falcons.
The closest Elkhorn Valley would get would be 13 to 12, forcing a Wolfpack timeout. The Wolfpack got to match point on a hitting error by Elkhorn Valley. Wemhoff then served out the match, setting off a celebration.
Zegers, Martinsen and Kallhoff combined for 43 kills. Leading the way was Martinsen with 17. Wemhoff had a team-high 38 set assists.
Anna Heilhecker led in serve receive (32) and digs (28).
Elkhorn Valley was led in kills by Hannah Ollendick (16), ace serves (7) and set assists (28) by Amber Miller.
The victory boosted the Wolfpack’s record to 21-11. The Lady Falcons end the season with an 18-11 record.
Wolfpack 3, Elkhorn Valley 2
Wolfpack 21 13 25 25 15
Lady Falcons 25 25 17 16 12
Attacks (K-Att-E) — Haley Zegers 14-34-8, Kaylee Martinsen 17-53-5, Allyson Wemhoff 1-7-0, Lexi Bode 4-9-2, Grace Rittscher 0-1-0, Kayce Kallhoff 12-39-2, Harlie Bode 4-21-5, Kirsten Krebs 0-7-1, Anna Heilhecker 0-1-0. Team totals: 52-172-23
Serving (A-SA-SE) — Zegers 0-8-2, Martinsen 1-14-1, Wemhoff 1-23-1, Rittscher 2-21-1, Kallhoff 1-14-0, Heilhecker 0-19-0. Team totals: 5-99-5
Blocks (BS-BA) — Zegers 4-1, Martinsen 3-3, Lexi Bode 0-2, Kallhoff 2-1. Team totals: 9-7
Digs (D-DE) — Zegers 13-2, Martinsen 25-5, Wemhoff 23-10, Rittscher 16-4, Kallhoff 14-4, H. Bode 7-1, Krebs 7-1, Heilhecker 28-13. Team totals: 133-40
Sets (Asst-BHA-BHE) — Zegers 0-1-0, Martinsen 1-1-0, Wemhoff 38-117-0, Rittscher 2-4-0, H. Bode 1-1-0, Krebs 4-24-0. Team totals: 46-148-0. Team totals: 46-148-0
Serve receive (R-RE) — Zegers 6-1, Martinsen 14-2, Wemhoff 5-0, Rittscher 8-0, Kallhoff 2-1, Krebs 7-0, Heilhecker 32-10. Team totals: 74-14
