COLDWATER — Sometimes an opposing team is just too big and overpowering.
St. John’s found this out the hard way Saturday, falling to top-ranked Marion Local in four games, 23-25, 25-9, 25-20, 25-17 in a Division IV volleyball district final at Coldwater’s Palace.
“We just got beat by a better team,” Blue Jay coach Kaila Cook remarked. “The girls played with them for a while but in the end, they were just better.”
Marion Local lived up to its No. 1 ranking greatly.
“It’s something we take a lot of pride in,” Flyer head coach Amy Steininger said. “We came out a little flat and they took advantage of it. Our seniors did a nice job of keeping everyone in the game and finishing strong.”
Junior Ashley Jettinghoff led the Lady Jays statistically as she racked up 14 kills and five digs. Sophomore teammate Lindsy Reindel pitched in eight kills and seven blocks.
Steininger saw her club come out of the gates down 7-2 on a Jettinghoff kill to force a timeout. Marion broke the huddle and the Blue Jay run immediately as freshman Alyssa Winner converted two kills. Both teams battled through mistakes and missed opportunities to a 10-10 tie.
From there, Delphos took control as Jettinghoff scored a kill, followed by a Marion miscue, that gave the Jays the momentum and the lead for good. Marion eventually got within 20-18 but a Denise Knippen block put St. John’s in control. Marion got within 24-23 on an Abby Niekamp kill, forcing Cook to call for a timeout. The Flyer serve was then long, putting the Jays up 1-0.
“That was huge the way we played early,” Cook said. “We put together some good volleyball.”
Just as Delphos appeared to have gained momentum, Marion Local showed why they are No. 1.
Niekamp and classmate Megan Barnhorst ran the table on the smaller Jays early on in game 2 as both scored a pair of blocks apiece for a 10-2 lead and later increased it to 13-5 on another Niekamp block. Delphos got its closest at 16-8 when senior Kelly Grothouse scored twice in a row on great sets, fooling the Flyer defense. Marion then scored nine of the last 10 points to take the game, with a Barnhorst kill ending it.
Much like the second, the third was controlled by Marion Local. St. John’s jumped ahead early as Jettinghoff landed an ace for a 4-1 score. Marion later tied it 8-8 and Niekamp and senior Kathy Dirksen blocked Blue Jay kill attempts for a 10-8 lead. Slowly, the Flyers began pulling away from the Lady Jays with kills from Niekamp and Winner. Delphos later pulled within three as Reindel impressively denied two consecutive Niekamp kill attempts, firing up her team and fans briefly. Like any good team, Marion came right back on a Blue Jay mistake, following by two Kristin Bergman kills for a 24-20 lead. Dirksen blocked a Jays’ set attempt for a 2-1 match lead.
In the fourth game, Delphos came its closest at 15-10 when Jettinghoff scored on a kill. Bergman and Barnhorst blew right back on kills. With a 21-14 deficit, Knippen scored a pair of blocks for the Jays. Marion called timeout to stop any sort of last momentum St. John’s may have had left in them. Winner then sent her team to regionals on an ace.
With the victory, Marion Local advances to the Elida Regional and will test its 24-1 record against the winner of Edon and Pettisville from the Napolean District.
The Jays were eliminated from tournament play with a record of 12-11.
“Marion Local is No. 1 for a reason and they showed everyone why today,” Cook added.
Niekamp (a Florida State signee) finished with 20 kills and 13 blocks to lead the Flyers’ attack. Barnhorst contributed nicely as well with seven kills and 10 blocks.
“As long as we play like were capable of, we’ll be fine in regionals. It should be fun,” Steininger added.