Stanton exits state tourney with Gehlen loss

 CEDAR RAPIDS — The Stanton Viqueens did all they could to keep their season from ending early in the state tournament.

Stanton lost the quarterfinal match Wednesday at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids against LeMars Gehlen Catholic 3-1.

“We fought, we fought. It was just one of those things where it didn’t work out. I’m very proud of the girls,” Stanton coach Jody Druivenga said. “We went down swinging hard, we went down playing hard and that’s the way you want to finish the season.”

The Viqueens started game one with an early 3-1 lead. Gehlen Catholic recovered and soon was up 6-3 thanks to an ace by Bailey Wiltgen.

Stanton stayed close, taking the lead once again and tying it several times. However, when both were tied at 12, Gehlen scored seven of the next eight points to take a 19-13 lead, forcing Stanton to call a timeout.

The scoring continued for Gehlen Catholic after the timeout, thanks to a couple of aces by Wiltgen. Stanton scored two more times in the game, but it wasn’t enough as Gehlen Catholic won the first game 25-15.

“We had some issues passing the ball in games one and two,” Druivenga said. “That really is such an important part of volleyball.”

Both teams traded points, as well as leads to start the second game. Gehlen Catholic rallied though and led 14-8, leading to a Stanton timeout.

Aces were key for Gehlen Catholic, as they recorded a few more, to keep Stanton from attacking. The Jays finished with 17 aces in the win.

Communication was also an issue, as a couple of in stances led to players going for the same ball on digs and assists.

“We had worked a lot these last few practices on talking. That’s one of those things you can work on and work on, but until they decide to do it on the court, it’s a whole different thing,” Druivenga said. “When we were doing that, we were keeping the ball in system, keeping things in tempo like we want to, but when we weren’t doing that we were struggling.”

Down 21-14 in the second game, Stanton fought back with two straight kills by Heidi Vanderholm. After another couple of points, Gehlen Catholic called timeout when their lead was 23-16.

The Jays held on to get the win 25-18 and were one game away from eliminating Stanton from the quarterfinals for the third straight year.

“I think the girls really fired up after the second game,” Druivenga said. “They didn’t want the season to be over. They were just fighting to stay in it.”

With their backs against the wall, Stanton jumped out to an early 6-4 lead that soon became 9-5. Gehlen Catholic closed the gap briefly, but soon Stanton’s lead was 16-9, thanks in part to a couple of aces by Erin DeKay.

Never once in the third game did the Viqueens give up the lead. With outside hitter Carmen Subbert being moved toward the middle on the attack, Subbert started slamming down spikes. At one point, the senior had three straight kills and soon the Viqueens lead was 22-15.

Gehlen Catholic attempted a late rally, but could get no closer than five points from the lead. Stanton kept their season alive with a 25-20 win.

Stanton limited the Gehlen Catholic attack in game three, allowing 10 kills, which was a contrast to the second game when the Jays had 16. The difference was the Viqueens were able to use their blocks to slow down the hard spikes from Gehlen Catholic.

“They’re definitely a lot taller than we are,” Druivenga said. “That’s always difficult, but I thought our girls blocked well. We got a lot of touches that slowed down their hard swings.”

The rejuvenated Viqueens began game four by scoring five of the first six points. Not content with falling behind early, Gehlen Catholic rallied, scoring eight of the next 10 points and taking a 9-7 lead, which soon became 12-7.

Stanton called timeout and started scoring again, but Gehlen Catholic matched point-for-point and inched closer to a semifinal appearance. At one point, Gehlen Catholic had a 16-10 lead.

Stanton fought back, with kills by both Subbert and Vanderholm. A serving ace by Haley Weis cut the Jays lead to 20-15. Subbert followed up with another kill a couple of points later and Stanton trailed 21-17.

However, Gehlen Catholic scored the next point, forcing Stanton to use a timeout. With time running out, the Viqueens scored two straight to cut the lead to 22-19 and Gehlen Catholic called timeout.

The Viqueens scored two of the next three points after the timeout to get Gehlen Catholic’s lead down to 23-21. Vanderholm followed up with another kill and the Jays lead was 23-22.

“We came back both games from a point differential. We’ve done that so many times this year and they believe in themselves,” Druivenga said. “They held their composure and I was happy with that out there. But you know, Gehlen is a pretty good team, swinging from all sides.”

Vanderholm’s kill was the last point Stanton scored as Gehlen Catholic scored two more times to hold on and get the 25-22 game four win, eliminating Stanton from the tournament.

Gehlen Catholic was defeated in the semifinals by Holy Trinity Catholic. It was a first for 1A though as Janesville won its first ever state title in any sport when they defeated Holy Trinity Catholic in the championship.

It’s the third straight state quarterfinal loss for the Stanton Viqueens in their four appearances at the state tournament. Their lone tournament win was 2010 when they defeated Grandview Park Baptist.

In her final match for Stanton volleyball, Subbert finished with 18 kills, 17 digs and was 16-for-16 on serves with two aces.

It was also the final match for several other senior varsity starters, like DeKay, Moriah Kammerer, Macy Elwood, Allison Aufdenberg and Ashley Palmquist.

DeKay had five kills, was 11-for-12 in serving with two aces and had two blocks (one solo and one assist). 

“We’ll miss her height, we’ll miss her blocks next year,” Druivenga said about DeKay. [She’s] another girl who really works hard on the court all the time.

Kammerer had two kills, 10 assists and was 8-for-9 serving with two aces.

Elwood, whom Druivenga describes as a tremendous leader on the court, led the way for Stanton with 16 assists. Aufdenberg finished with six digs in the match, while Palmquist had eight.

“To be put into that position as a libero and to make things happen back there, she deserves a lot of credit for that,” Druivenga said about Palmquist.

In total, Stanton will be losing eight seniors, which represents half the roster. The other contributing seniors for Stanton are Avery Taylor and Madison Wookey.

“They’re a high energy bunch, they’re very laid back, very patient, very calm bunch of ladies. They’ve always been a joy to work with,” Druivenga said.

Stanton will have a couple of key returners next season in Vanderholm and Weis. Both had significant varsity time for the season. Going into state, Vanderholm had the third most kills on the team with 132. In the quarterfinals match, Vanderholm finished with four kills and six digs.

Weis meanwhile was one of the best servers in the conference for the season. Heading into the state tournament, she had 66 aces, third most in the Corner Conference. Additionally, Weis was helpful to Stanton on the attack as she had 81 kills this season, as well as 0.211 kill efficiency, which was third best on the team.

“The seniors this year, they want great things for the younger girls,” Druivenga said. “They’ve been great role models and I truly believe the juniors will step into that role, the juniors, the sophomores, the freshmen, that have had a little bit of varsity experience, will embrace that role and make things happen.”

Other non-seniors with varsity time this season were Logan Wagg and Bailey Foote. Wagg was the second best setter for Stanton this season, recording 148 assists, leading up to the state tournament. Foote meanwhile was used in the back row as she recorded 71 digs in 93 sets this season.

Other underclassmen like Chelsea Weis, Jody Vanderholm, Ally Focht and Devin Druivenga will also be key players for Stanton.

“I’ve been blessed with great kids,” Druivenga said. “[Assistant coach] Lacey [Stephens] and I are blessed with wonderful girls to work with every single day. We could not ask for more.”