By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Hoisington senior Gabby Reif nearly came up with a championship-saving dive in Saturday's Class 3A State Volleyball semifinal against Nemaha Central at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Her diving pass to sophomore Sofia Simic at the net resulted in a point and tied the third set at 19. A Simic kill on the next point gave Hoisington a 20-19 edge.
But the margin of error was razor thin in the semifinal battle. An ill-timed lift, a player in the net, and two missed swings in the final half of the set allowed Nemaha to advance to the finals 25-23 after the teams split the first two sets 25-21, 25-22. The Lady Cardinals bounced back to beat Neodesha 25-19, 25-13 to secure the third-place trophy.
"That semifinal game, the girls were fighting hard and they wanted it so bad," said Hoisington coach Mykela Riedl. "To just miss it by two points, it was super hard to see. The girls looked defeated, but obviously we had to come back together. We wanted to still finish our season on a high note and get the place we could."
The third semifinal set was well contested throughout. The Thunder took a 12-9 lead before the Cards answered with a kill from Simic, a block from junior Kelsi Maier, and an ace from Reif to even the score. The score was still tied at 13 when Hoisington was called for a lift. A Lady Cardinal in the net gave Nemaha a 17-15 advantage.
And still the Lady Cardinals refused to go away. Simic, who reached 1,000 career kills during Friday's pool play, had three big hits late to give Hoisington a 21-20 lead. The Thunder took the lead back on a ball that was ruled tip, but Simic again leveled the score at 22 with a kill. A block from sophomore Kinley Wilkins gave Hoisington its final lead of the set at 23-22.
Things went well for Hoisington early on as a tip from senior Ellie Crawford gave the Cards a 6-3 lead in the first set. Simic put down kills for the first five Hoisington points and traded blows with a trio of Nemaha hitters. Tied at six, the Thunder six of the next seven points and hung on to a 25-21 first set.
Hoisington trailed 9-7 in the second set when Wilkens put down a kill and junior Miya Nachtigal followed with an ace to tie things up. Simic had a stretch that included five kills and Maier added two more as the Lady Cards opened up a 19-16 lead. A Simic kill set up match point and the state-record holder for aces in a season finished off the second set at 25-22 with another of her big serves.
Hoisington handled Neodesha in two sets in Friday's pool play. The Lady Cards repeated the feat in Saturday's consolation match. After falling behind 6-2, a pair of Simic aces helped Hoisington turn things around to an 11-8 lead. Still leading 19-16, Simic had four late kills and Crawford added a big block to secure the first set 25-19.
All the Lady Cardinal hitters were out early in the final set of the season. Shots from Maier and Crawford were followed by two kills from Simic. Sophomore Brynn Tarlton's serves kept the Blue Streak offense off balance in the strethc. Leading 12-5, Maier and Simic each followed with two more kills and the rout was on. Maier had three kills late in the set and Simic added one more ace to her season total as Hoisington rolled 25-13.
Hoisington ends its season at 41-5 overall, with two losses coming to Halstead, which beat Nemaha Central in straight sets to claim the Class 3A championship. The Lady Cards say goodybe to just three seniors in Reif, Crawford, and Presley Brungardt.
"Talking to the seniors, I told them they definitely left this program better than when they came into this program," Riedl said. "We thank them and we love them and we are really going to miss them, but they left these underclassmen with the confidence, leadership, and everything they need to continue to be successful over the next several years."
