Top-ranked Saint Ansgar tops East Mills at state
Top ranked Saint Ansgar ended East Mills’ season in the Class 1A State Volleyball Tournament quarterfinals at the Xtream Arena in Coralville last Tuesday.
Saint Ansgar (29-4) never trailed running away for a 25-11 first set win before holding off an energized Wolverines squad in the final two sets 25-16, 25-18. The Saints would go on to win the state championship over Janesville in Thursday’s 1A finals.
“We had a great season,” said East Mills coach Connie Viner. “It’s always sad when it comes to an end. Everybody’s season ended this week. I’m just very happy for these girls they got to end their season up at Coralville.”
The Wolverines won a school-record 33 matches entering but as the No. 6 seed they drew the top-ranked and top seeded Saints. The first set, the match looked that lopsided as East Mills struggled to keep up.
Viner said her team was stunned that first set and while they did play batter as the match went on, they never quite got into their usual rhythm. The start mirrored both of the Wolverines’ two previous trips to state which ended in quarterfinal losses.
“The first set, when we went up there the other two times it would be nice to have that as like a practice set,” the coach said. “But that’s not doable. They settled down and they just tried to play their game and do their best and give it everything they have and leave it all on the floor.”
The presence of the Saints’ Lindsey Kruse and Jacey Johnson in the middle controlled on both sides of the net never made that easy. The 6-foot-1 Kruse notched 15 kills and 5-foot-11 Johnson added 13 while combining for five of the Saints eight blocks. For the game, the Saints hit .316 with 42 kills.
“They were very good but their setter was really good, putting that ball right where they needed to slam it down,” Viner said. “We didn’t get very many blocks. Our girls played more, with everything they had, but we didn’t have an answer for those middles.”
The Saints were also sharp at the service line with 10 aces.
The Wolverines finished with 22 kills while hitting at a .041 efficiency. Brooke Jones led the way with seven kills while Loycee Palmer, Ava Grindle and Ellie Hagen added four kills each.
Venna Sayers led the way with 14 set assists.
The loss was hard for her and her team but Viner said the ending of the season didn’t define a “dream season.”
“They had many milestones,” Viner said. “They broke the school record for wins. Their goal was to get 30-plus wins and they got 33. The biggest things for these girls are that they played for each other, they had fun, they were driven, we had no drama, and they just came together so well. The seniors really led all of that effort and it’s one season that I’ll always remember.”
Those six seniors, including starters Palmer, Sayers, Jones and Ruby Hastie along with reserves Sophia Morrical and Ayzia Post, suited up for the last time in Coralville. Their leadership brought a talented group together and kept it there – on and off the court – all season long.
“They meant the world to this program,” Viner said. “They started very young and they’ve been playing together since third grade. They just really connect to each other very well. They’re very selfless players. They did whatever was best for the team. And they were a lot of fun on and off the court.”