St. Francis girls volleyball coach Peg Kopec probably could venture an educated opinion on where to find the best lodging in the Bloomington-Normal area. Her volleyball teams have made a tradition of overnight stays at the state tournament.
In 10 previous trips to the state quarterfinals, St. Francis had won its first match nine times. And the key to the Spartans’ first-round success is
“I don’t know,” Kopec said. “If I knew that I wouldn’t have wanted to throw up an hour ago.”
Kopec’s team calmed her nerves quickly Friday, dominating Illiana Christian in a 15-4, 15-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the Class A state volleyball tournament.
“[Volleyball] is such a huge game Downstate,” Kopec said. “You know you have two more games in your seniors’ careers and you’ve still got a shot at a state title.”
The Spartans (33-8) will face Red Bud (25-16) in Saturday’s semifinals at 9:30 a.m. Red Bud, only two points from elimination in the second game and facing match point in the third, rallied both times to stun defending state champion Breese Mater Dei 6-15, 15-13, 17-15.
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St. Francis pulled out to a commanding 9-1 lead in the first game. Amy Palash’s eight kills secured the Game 1 win.
“Our back row always yells out what’s open,” said Palash, who registered a match-high 10 kills. “We’re a very vocal team. If you listen to them then you’ll be fine.”
In Game 2, St. Francis took over the serve with a 4-1 lead and never relinquished it, running off 11 straight points.
“We had some points that I felt good about the way we were playing in the first game,” Illiana Christian coach Bill Schepel said. “We were not able to do that in the second game.”
Palash led St. Francis in digs with nine, and Noel Olson led in assists with 22. Erica Bruxvoort and Kim Bultema led Illiana Christian (25-15-1) with five kills each.
Illiana Christian’s chances of returning to state are good because the Lady Vikings graduate only one senior.
“We got to the Redbird,” said Bultema, Illiana’s lone senior. “Holy cow, we never thought we’d get that far. There was no losing coming in here today, and there’s no losing going out.”
Saturday’s other semifinal will pit Lena-Winslow (31-6) against Mt. Pulaski (39-2). Lena-Winslow beat Springfield Lutheran 15-4, 14-16, 15-7, and Mt. Pulaski knocked off Colchester 15-10, 15-8.