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Fall Season
Lady Wildcats Volleyball team finishes 2nd in State Championship!
The Wildcats traveled to Warrensburg on Thursday, started round robin pool play on Friday. Westminster swept Reeds Spring 25-22, 25-19 and split with O’Hara 17-25, 25-14. The Wildcats won the first game against Lutheran South 25-18, which guaranteed that the Wildcats would play in the championship match on Saturday. Several members of the JV stepped in for the Varsity starters and Lutheran South won the second game. The Wildcats finished pool play in second place with a 4-2 record.
With over one hundred Wildcat fans filling the stands with blue, the Championship match started at 5:30pm on Saturday against the O’Hara Celtics, a team with three prior titles from four previous state appearances. The Wildcats knew that O’Hara was tough but beatable, having already won a game against them the day before in pool play.
The Cats started strong, with a kill from Kelli Stipanovich putting the first point on the board. O’Hara responded with their own attacks as both teams battled for the lead. Kelly Penning notched a kill a few plays later to keep the score close. The Celts lead briefly, but a back row attack by Kaitlyn Pfeifer tied it at 4. A service ace by Leah Beck made the lead 6-5. The score was tied for a few more points, and then the Wildcats pulled away, leading 9-6 with a block by Katie Weber and Lauren O’Leary, forcing a Celt timeout. The Celts chipped away at the lead and gradually tied it up again at 12-12. Both teams played aggressively, but the Celts gained a small lead and kept it for the remainder of the game. O’Hara bested the Wildcats in game one 22-25.
Game two saw the Wildcats trail early, despite numerous kills by Kelsey Janssen, Kaitlyn Pfeifer, Katie Weber, and Kelli Stipanovich. Trailing 14-20, the Wildcats didn’t give up. Additional kills were recorded by all the hitters, including a kill by Lauren O’Leary on the second ball that caught the Celts flat footed. The Wildcat defense stayed tough, with excellent passing and digging by Leah Beck and Kali Stewart. Great teamwork got the Wildcats within one point, at 23-24. The next play, O’Hara got the kill and the Wildcats lost game two 23-25.
The team recorded an impressive 31 kills, lead by Kelli Stipanovich with 13, followed by Kaitlyn Pfeifer with 9, Katie Weber with 6, and Kelly Penning, Kelsey Janssen and Lauren O’Leary each with 1. Lauren O’Leary was credited with 24 assists. The Celts posted just 5 points more than the Wildcats to earn the title.
After receiving their medals and trophy, the team unfurled a banner thanking all the fans who traveled to cheer them on.
In addition to taking second in the Missouri State Championship, the Wildcats finished their season with a lot to be proud of, including a record of 29-8, the District Championship win, and being the first ever Westminster volleyball team to make the trip to state for the final four.
Related: http://prepsports.stltoday.com/ssi/prep/stories200...
Last modified: 11/05/2007 04:47 am