Viqueens defeat Griswold and Bedford to reach 1A final

 STANTON — The Stanton Viqueens are one step closer to a fourth straight state volleyball tournament trip.

They reached the regional final when Stanton defeated the Griswold Tigers Friday night in the regional semifinals at home, 3-0.

Stanton almost went to a fourth game with Griswold when the Tigers jumped out to an eight point lead (18-10) more than halfway through the third game.

“We just all told each other we weren’t going to four,” Stanton senior hitter Carmen Subbert said. “Our passing got a lot better there and we started coming back and Macy [Elwood] started feeding me sets.”

Stanton rallied and closed the gap thanks to kills by Subbert. Griswold still had a 21-18 lead, when Subbert had more kills and would give the Viqueens a 24-21 lead.

“They were the turning point,” Stanton coach Jody Druivenga said. “We lost our momentum in a big way and we can usually count on Carmen to get in that front row and put the ball down.”

With their backs against the wall, Griswold scored two straight points to get it to 24-23. 

“They started swinging the ball a lot better that third game,” Subbert said. “They didn’t want their season to end and you could see that.”

It wouldn’t be enough though as Stanton held on to get the 25-23 win and clinch a regional final berth.

“I think we have a really good team that can [come back],” Stanton senior player Moriah Kammerer said.

Stanton had jumped out to an early lead in the third game, when Griswold rallied and jumped out to the 18-10 lead.

“When we were able to turn that around, we were able to play our type of ball game,” Druivenga said.

The first two games went smoothly for Stanton as they won 25-9 and 25-10.

Griswold began game one with a 3-0 lead, including two aces by Marlia Rossell. Stanton recovered though, taking the lead  at 5-4. From there, Stanton scored 11 of the next 12 points to take a 16-5 lead. 

“I just think we were in system, very well. We were getting the ball passed up, we were getting the ball set up and we were hitting the ball down,” Druivenga said. “We were playing with intensity.”

Despite several points by Griswold to try and get back in the match, it wasn’t enough as Stanton took the first game.

Momentum continued to stay on the side of Stanton as they took a 13-1 lead in game two, forcing Griswold to burn both of their timeouts.

Griswold put up a few more points, but not before Stanton ticked closer to the game two win. A Logan Wagg ace gave Stanton the 19-4 lead. However, Griswold scored five straight points to cut the lead to 19-9, forcing Stanton to use a timeout.

The Tigers scored once more in the game as Stanton held on to get the game two win.

“We were a great team with cheering each other on, especially these last couple of games,” Kammerer said. “It just works for us.”

Leading the way for Stanton was Subbert, who finished with 17 kills and six digs. Erin DeKay and Heidi Vanderholm each had four kills, while Haley Weis had two.

Macy Elwood had a big match for assists, finishing with 13 of the team’s 22. Kammerer had six assists in the Griswold win.

Stanton had 10 aces for the match, with Avery Taylor leading with four. Elwood had three aces.

Defensively, Stanton had 13 total blocks (two solo) for the match. Weis had five blocks (one solo, four assists), while DeKay and Elwood each had three.

For Griswold, Candice Howell led Griswold with nine kills out of 30 attack attempts. Melodie Anstey had four kills, while Justine Freund finished with two.

Rossell had 13 assists and  three aces, while Kinzey Nicklaus had 14 digs.

Stanton 3, Bedford 0

Stanton started the week with a 3-0 win in the regional quarterfinals against Bedford. 

The Viqueens won the games 25-16, 25-15 and 25-10.

Subbert had a big match, recording 22 of the team’s 30 digs. She shared the team-high in digs with DeKay, as both had seven.

Vanderholm had four kills, while DeKay and Weis each had two. Elwood was responsible for 18 of Stanton’s 28 assists.

It was the fourth win for Stanton against the Bulldogs this season. The three other wins came during tournaments.

Regional final

The Viqueens have a chance to get to their fourth straight state tournament, but first they will need to get past Murray.

“We’ve been in this situation before. We know what we’ve got to do,” Subbert said. “We know we’ve got to play our best ball. I think all the girls are ready for that, so it should be a good game.”

Murray had one tough challenge in the first round as they won in five games versus Lamoni. 

Since then, the Mustangs were able to defeat Southeast Warren in the quarterfinals 3-0, last Tuesday and East Union in the semifinals Friday night 3-1.

Murray has lost three times this season. Two of those losses were to Grandview Park Baptist and another was to Martensdale-St. Marys.

Leading the way for Murray is Hannah Barber. The junior hitter leads the team with 353 kills this season. Barber also leads Murray in digs with 169.

The regional final takes place Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Creston High School.