Friday, October 29, 2010
By Greg Gulas
SALEM
The Waterloo Vikings are firm believers in taking care of their business at hand as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
After disposing of Girard on Thursday in three games, the Indians got a first hand look as to the reason why their opponent is now headed to uncharted waters.
The Vikings (25-1), the tourney’s No. 1 seed, topped the Indians, the No. 4 seed, 25-20, 25-22, 25-20, to capture the Division III district volleyball championship and advanced to the regional semifinals in Barberton next week.
It was the school’s first district crown while the win marked the 23rd time in 26 outings that they have swept the opposition.
“Our goal tonight was to attack, keep the ball away from the right side and make our second ball attack count. We executed our game plan exactly that way,” said Waterloo coach Brandon Thewes.
“While our serve receive was off tonight, we more than made up for it with our defensive tenacity. The team played well as a unit,” added Thewes.
“When the season first started I was just hoping to go as far and as deep into the tourney as possible. We’ve never advanced to regional play so we’re obviously excited about this new opportunity,” Thewes said.
The Indians raced to an early 7-4 advantage in the opening game but with the score tied at 13, Waterloo’s Lindsey Brown reeled off five consecutive service points for an 18-13 Vikings lead.
The Indians cut the lead to 20-19 on three points by Mary Burt, but the Vikings then reeled off five of the game’s final six points.
Four points by Megan Forney broke a 6-all tie in the second game for a 10-6 Waterloo lead and after the Vikings surged to a 21-19 margin, two service points each by Jaimie Willis and Bryce Wiley capped a 4-1 run to end the game.
Five service points by Becca Collins then staked the Vikings to a 15-9 advantage in the final game and after Girard cut the Waterloo lead to 23-20, Collins nailed the final point of the game for title.
“They came to play and we did not,” said Girard coach Phil Walters. “It’s been a season of ups and downs for us with most of our losses caused by our own mistakes.
“We made too many costly errors and they played off of our mistakes. Good teams tend to do that,” Walters said.
“We had six seniors this year that led us to this point and we now have something to build on for next year,” added Walters. “We were seeded fourth so to advance to the championship game is great.
“Take nothing away from Waterloo. They are an excellent team and they played really well tonight.”
Waterloo’s Emily Plajer credited the closeness of the team for their success this season.
“We have four sets of cousins, we’ve all been playing together since middle school and we’re all very close friends,” she said.
“We’re a close team that feeds off of each other. Girard is also a strong team but the key for us tonight was our ability to keep the ball in play while being able to block their hits.
“It’s exciting to now be going in the playoffs where no other Waterloo volleyball team has ever gone,” Plajer said.
Forney had 12 service points and nine kills; Willis 23 digs; Brown eight points, and Wiley eight assists to pace the Vikings.
The Indians, who closed out their season with a 16-10 mark, were paced by Hayley Spalla with 18 assists; Alex Doran with six service points and 16 assists; Mary Burt with 11 digs, seven service points and an ace and Morgan Walters with 15 digs and six kills.