Published: Nov. 3, 2015
STATE BOUND!
Living Word advances to state for 1st time
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
BEAVER DAM — When Living Word Lutheran senior Amber Scholz
stepped up to the service line serving for match point in Saturday’s WIAA
Division 4 sectional final, she had every reason imaginable to be a nervous
wreck — but she was far from that.
“I’m going to make this,” Scholz said, recalling what she
thought at the service line with match point in her hand.
That shouldn’t be a surprise, especially for these
Timberwolves, who advanced to the state tournament for the first time in school
history with a 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-20 victory over Burlington Catholic
Central at Beaver Dam High School. “I’m just so in shock that our small team
from the cornfield can just pull it off,” Scholz said. “It’s amazing how we
pulled it together.”
The Timberwolves (19-12) will face Wausau’s Newman Catholic
in one state semifinal at 10 a.m. Friday at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon.
The other state semifinal, which is also at 10 a.m. Friday at the Resch Center,
is Clayton against Southwestern. The state championship game will be at 9:05
a.m. Saturday at the Resch Center.
Newman Catholic is the two-time defending state champion and
is at state for the eighth time since 2005.
Clayton is at state for the third season in a row.
Southwestern is at state for the third time in school history (2011 and 2014).
“It’s exciting; they’re thrilled,” Living Word coach Dawn
Walker said. “It’s probably unbelievable for them. But they’ve worked hard.
They’ve worked hard all season. They’ve gotten better after every match. They
played like a true team tonight.”
Living Word finished the regular season 11-11 and didn’t
look like much of a state-bound team.
“I feel like in the middle of the season it was six
individuals and not one team,” Living Word junior Kayli Brown said.
Sensing the season was slipping away, the Timberwolves got a
day off from practice late in the season. Instead of going home, they held an
impromptu scrimmage against each other. It was fun and games throughout the
scrimmage, but it was also a wake-up call. The Timberwolves learned how to have
fun again between the lines of the volleyball court.
Since the start of the Midwest Classic Conference tournament
nearly a month ago, the Timberwolves have played one pressure-filled match
after another and have handled those pressure situations without flinching.
That was evident as, for the third straight match in the postseason, the
Timberwolves had to create some magic and come from behind to keep their dream
run going. Speaking of the run, Living Word beat a No. 1 seed in both sectional
matches to get to state.
In the regional final, Living Word rallied from an 0-2
deficit and a 6-12 deficit in the fifth set against Central Wisconsin
Christian. In the sectional semifinal Thursday, Living Word rallied from a 1-2
deficit and a 5-7 deficit in the fifth set to beat Hilbert.
Scholz said because the Timberwolves have played in tense
situations throughout the postseason, she and her teammates were relaxed,
rather than nervous when the match’s intensity picked up.
“In the long run, we knew we could pull it off,” she said.
“I knew that once we came together, we could beat them.”
Catholic Central hoped to get back to state for the first
time since 2012. At one time, the Hilltoppers were the program to beat in
Division 4. From 2006-2012, they went to state six times — winning the
championship five times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2012).
The Hilltoppers took advantage of a service error with the
first set tied at 13 and led the rest of the set. They were in control for much
of the second set as well. They held a 23-21 lead after a kill by Anna
Hackbarth. A lift violation on the Hilltoppers made it 23-22 and Living Word
got the sideout.
Stepping up to the service line was Kayli Brown, who served
out the set for the Timberwolves.
Ashley Bruss got a kill to even the set at 23, then Catholic
Central hit an attack into the net. Then Brown got an ace to give the
Timberwolves the second set and evened the match at 1.
Living Word stole that set and the Timberwolves knew it.
“That was huge,” Dawn Walker said. “We had to have that one.
I think that relaxed us and allowed us to play like we know how to play.”
The third and fourth sets followed a similar pattern, with
Catholic Central seemingly controlling the first half of the sets. In the
second half of those sets, Living Word picked it up and showed some grit.
In the third set, Timberwolves freshman Keri Walker got a
kill to tie it at 18. She followed that up with an ace. Catholic Central tied
it at 19, then Keri Walker got a kill to give Living Word the lead for good. Up
23-22, again, Brown served out the set, including another ace for the final
point.
“I felt like we could do anything in those sets,” Scholz
said.
Suddenly, Living Word was in the lead in the match.
“Coach said in the huddle, ‘Get it done this game,’” Brown
said.
Catholic Central led the fourth set 18-16, but a block by
Sophie Hoelz and an attack into the net tied the set at 18.
Out of a timeout by Catholic Central, Hoelz got another
block — one of eight she had in the match — to give Living Word a 19-18 lead.
It didn’t relinquish the lead for the remainder of the set.
Keri Walker got the kill to make it 24-20, sending Scholz to
the service line for a chance to win the match.
The point ended relatively quickly, with the ball softly
landing on Catholic Central’s side of the net, and the Timberwolves players,
bench and fans burst into celebration.
Keri Walker finished with a triple double — 19 kills, 16
digs and 13 assists.
“We’re going to state,” Scholz said. “It’s amazing. I have
no words. I’m just so proud of all of them.”
No comments:
Post a Comment