Patriots Fall to #2 Knights in State Tournament
The Patriot volleyball team headed to Lincoln on Thursday, November 3, with high hopes and big expectations as they took on the Fremont Archbishop Bergan Knights in the Class C2 Nebraska State Volleyball Tournament.
“Making it to state for a third straight year is simply amazing!” Head Coach Becky Schneider said. “It speaks volumes about our program, our culture, and the time and dedication these girls put in! We liked our draw with Bergan first round, especially since we had played them prior. Going in, we knew we had a chance because we were definitely not the same team as we were the first time. We had a great three days of practice and focused on what we needed to do, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t our time.”
The Patriots’ hopes were dashed when the #2 Knights proved too much to handle for the #7 Patriots, as the Patriots lost in three straight sets.
After defeating the Centura Centurions in the sub-state game, the Patriots entered the state tourney with a 26-6 record. The Knights came into the matchup 31-4.
The Knights stunned the Pats in the first set 13-25, shutting down the Patriot attackers.
In the second set, the Patriots hung with the Knights the whole time, but lost the back-and-forth battle 24-26.
The third set was much of the same, with the Patriots playing hard but just not being able to get over the hump. Bergan’s blockers continued to frustrate the Patriot attackers, and they just couldn’t find a groove, losing 22-25.
This year’s lone senior leader, Korbee Wendt had this to say about the game:
“Unfortunately, the state tournament didn't go as planned or how we wanted it to go. We are a young team this year, and there were a lot of nerves going into the match that probably played a role in the outcome of the game. Although the game didn't go as we had wanted it to, it was such a great experience being able to be one of the eight teams in class C2 to go down to state.
“Overall it was a great season from start to finish,” Wendt continued. “Even though we started out the season on kind of a slow note, we picked it up and we peaked at the perfect time. We accomplished so many things together as a team this year, such as winning a few tournaments, being conference champs, and making it to state for the third year in a row. This team will be a hard one to leave because we just all got along, worked so well together, and just worked so hard every day to accomplish the goals we had set. It was a very fun season, and I can't wait to watch to see what these girls will do next year!”
In the final game of her career, Wendt had 7 kills, 5 digs, and 1 block. Junior Chloe Hanel had 14 kills, 11 digs, and 3 blocks. Izzy Hollatz had 27 assists, 2 blocks, and 12 digs. Brynn Settje recorded 13 digs, Gracie Eisenmann posted 12 digs, and Ava Kasik added 11.
Bergan was a solid team, and we definitely battled with them and made some good runs; however, we also made uncharacteristic errors and just couldn’t recover from them,” Coach Schneider said. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t make more noise at state, but we could not be prouder of these girls and all that they accomplished this season. We had a phenomenal season and made history once again!”
Clarkson-Leigh vs. Archbishop Bergan Stats:
Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Final
Clarkson-Leigh 13 24 22 0
Archbishop Bergan 25 26 25 3
(kills, aces, blocks, digs, assists)
Izzy Hollatz: 1, 1, 2, 12, 27; Chloe Hanel: 14, 0, 3, 11, 0; Cadence Indra: 0, 2, 0, 8, 0; Brynn Settje: 1, 1, 1, 13, 0; Tanyn Larson: 2, 0, 1, 2, 0; Gracie Eisenmann: 2, 1, 1, 12, 3; Baylee Settje: 5, 0, 0, 4, 0; Ava Kasik: 0, 0, 0, 11, 0; Korbee Wendt: 7, 0, 1, 5, 1