The curtains came down for the season for the Alliance St. Agnes volleyball team with 6 contests last week. St. Agnes played in a tournament in Hemingford on Saturday, September 30 and went 2 and 1 for the day. The Crusaders downed Sioux County in the opening match then lost to Crawford in the semi finals. Alliance won their final game of the game and placed third. Earlier that week SA posted wins over Crawford on Tuesday and Morrill on Thursday. In their final battle, the Crusaders hosted Gordon/Rushville and down the Mustangs in 2 sets. The junior varsity also ended the year with a W, defeating Gordon in 2 sets.
The varsity game saw St. Agnes control the game early. Big plays by Alliance’s Dawsyn Higgins, Hannah Benzel, and Kaitlyn Shannon got the Crusaders off to a strong beginning. Kills by Reese Armstrong and Maslin Breen made the score 13 to 6 midway through the opener. Another kill by Higgins stretched the Crusader lead to 14 to 8. The set came to close with kills and points by Shannon, Benzel, and Breen. Set one SA 25 Gordon 15.
Same song second verse in set 2. Three straight points by Benzel help SA grabbed the early lead. Gordon would battle back to tie the contest 13. From there it was all St. Agnes. Benzel continued her big night with 3 straight points including an ace as the momentum swung towards the Alliance side. The set ended with points from Peyton Baker and Lilah Bair plus kills by Breen. Final of set two SA 25 Gordon 17
GR 15 17
SA 25 25
The good times continued for the Crusaders in the junior varsity game. Points by Stella Beck, Delaney Jelinek, and Alexis Shelmadine helped St. Agnes snagged the lead at 11 to 10. Tied at 14 Aubrey Dudden went to the service line and scored 6 in a row as the Crusaders went ahead 20 to 14. The set ended with points by Jelinek and Alliance winning 25 to 15.
More points by Dudden is how set 2 began. The second was a close contest with the score tied at 7,8,9,and 10. Strong serving by Beck, and Baker helped St. Agnes remain close. Tied at 12 St. Agnes got more points by Dudden to seize the lead. Final of set 2 SA 25 GR 13
GR 15 13
SA 25 25
St. Agnes says goodbye to 6 strong leaders in Benzel, Bair, Higgins, Baker, Amora Gonzalez, and Shannon. Gonzalez played a big role in the wins with a number of great sets. Nice season girls.