Warriors win first regional since 1996

GENESEO – The Sterling Golden Warriors earned their first volleyball regional title since 1996 Saturday night.

The Warriors (22-11) claimed their fourth-ever regional championship, besting the Geneseo Maple Leafs 25-21, 18-25, 25-22 on Geneseo’s home floor.

“I’m in shock. This is so exciting,” Sterling senior hitter Keeley Knie said. “This has been such a long process. It’s amazing to get this far.”

Sterling advances to a Rochelle Sectional semifinal matchup with Sycamore, which came out of the Burlington Central Regional as the No. 3 seed.

The Warriors came storming back from a 10-6 deficit in the third and decisive game, going on a 12-1 tear to build an 18-11 advantage.

A 5-0 flurry put Sterling in front 11-10. Senior Brittney Schreiner had two kills and freshman Jennifer Rahn provided a block in the burst.

Schreiner walloped three aces and had a kill in the Warriors’ 7-0 run that made it 18-11. Freshman Krista Loos added two kills in the spurt.

Geneseo closed within 18-15 before the Warriors responded with a 5-0 flurry that included kills by junior Morgan Martells, Knie and Rahn to make it 23-15.

The Maple Leafs continued to fight, battling back within three at 23-20. A kill by Loos made it 24-20.

Geneseo staved off two match points to make it 24-22. After a net violation call against both teams, Martells blasted a kill to close things out.

“In the third game we decided, ‘We have to do this,’” Knie said. “We wanted it so much. We fought for it and went out and did it. The run that Brit [Schreiner] had really helped. It got our confidence up.”

“I’m a lucky guy. For my first year as a coach getting this far is awesome,” Sterling coach Alexis Rivera said. “The girls deserve this. There is a lot of will and desire in those girls. They love the game. They love their school.”

Game 1 was a back-and-forth affair. Geneseo took its first lead since 1-0 when an ace made it 18-17. But the Warriors answered with a 4-0 burst to go up 21-18 and led the rest of the game. Martells had two blocks and Rahn another in the run, which also included a kill by Loos.