Repeat Complete: Eastland defends title with three-set win
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| Eastland junior Carissa Gruhn spikes the ball past Mount Pulaski’s Haley Bowles on Saturday in Normal. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@svnmail.com) |
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NORMAL – The mad scramble ended like so many throughout Eastland’s season. The difference was what Katelyn Hasken’s final kill meant.
As the junior’s spike fluttered off a block and floated slowly toward the floor, the barely bottled-up joy waited not-so-patiently for the release.
When the ball finally hit the ground Saturday, the pent-up ecstasy exploded on the court and in the stands. The Cougars are state volleyball champions. Again.
As morning turned to afternoon at Redbird Arena, the Cougars claimed their second straight Class 1A title with a 25-15, 26-28, 25-17 win against Mount Pulaski, 1A’s first champ in 2007.
“It feels wonderful, even better the second time around,” Eastland coach Kristy Pierce said. “These girls have worked so hard to get back here, so hard to earn this, and it showed today.
“I don’t think there’s a prouder person right now in the entire United States.”
“I’m speechless,” added Hasken, who had 13 kills and three aces. “I’m kind of in shock right now, just really enjoying the moment. Again.”
Senior Megan Bunyer led the way at the net, slamming 17 kills with only four errors. Junior libero Kerby Kniss sparked the defense with 21 digs. The rest of the Cougars once again did whatever was necessary to win a big match.
“This point is the climax, this is what it’s all about,” Bunyer said. “All the hard work, all the time and effort of playing basically all our lives, it’s all worth it for this.”
The attitude from was different from the start Saturday. The Cougars (40-2) smiled through warm-ups, hugged the IHSA’s Add A. Tude mascot instead of settling for high-fives and definitely looked like they’d been there before.
“It’s the championship match,” said junior Courtney Blair, who had nine kills and three blocks. “How can you not be excited and happy and ready to go?”
“We fully appreciated what this all meant, really wanted to soak it up again and have fun,” junior Hope Linker (36 assists) added.
The Cougars plowed through Game 1. A 10-2 run midway through Game 2 made it look like Eastland was going to cruise.
“We really got hammered early on,” Pulaski coach Donna Dulle said. “They are a great team and have a lot of horses. Their passing was incredible and it seemed like they had someone wherever we hit the ball.”
But at their coach’s behest, the Toppers (30-12) proved they belonged in the title match. Trailing 23-18, Pulaski closed the second game with an 11-3 run to force a hard-fought final set.
“We knew at the end of the second game that we were OK,” Blair said. “We kind of fell apart at the end, and we had confidence in one another that it wasn’t going to happen again.”
“They’re so competitive, and I just had to remind them what was at stake,” Pierce said. “They thrive on that, and I knew they weren’t about to melt. I was worried for a minute, but I knew they’d rise up and finish strong.”
After four ties and two lead changes in Game 3’s first 10 points, the Cougars took the lead for good at 6-5. Pulaski didn’t make it easy, however, as Eastland didn’t lead by more than four points until Bunyer’s final kill made it 20-15.
After a Blair-Karissa Pierce double-block, Kerby Kniss served an ace and Blair pounded a kill to put the Cougars up 24-16. Instead of faltering like the game before, Eastland finished the Toppers when Karissa Pierce found Hasken on the outside left after a scrambling volley for the final kill.
“I saw Katelyn way out there and knew she wanted the ball,” Karissa Pierce said. “I thought about that double-contact they called on me earlier, but I just relaxed and did what I needed to do. I had the easy part of that point.”
“It was a good set, everyone contributed to that point and I wasn’t about to waste the hustle we had,” Hasken said. “Everybody did a great job of not letting the ball hit the floor, and we just knew we had to keep going after it.”
When the offense went away at the end of the second game, Eastland’s defense picked up the slack.
“It was up to the defense to keep us alive,” Kniss said. “They have a very good defense, and it really made us focus more on our fundamentals and step up our game, too.”
“We worked really hard, never quit on a ball,” senior Sidney Kane added.
With Hasken and Blair strong as usual, Bunyer was the Cougars’ go-to girl. She was the run-stopper, ripping a big kill every time Eastland needed a sideout.
“I knew this was the last match of my high school career, and I wanted to really go out and have fun,” an exhausted but elated Bunyer said. “I just knew I was going to do well. I was willing to take chances and make things happen, and it all worked out.”
“Dynasty” isn’t on anybody’s mind, but Blair and Linker – who, like all the Cougars but Bunyer, Kane and Pierce, return next season – are confident Eastland has what it takes to turn back-to-back into a three-peat.
For now, the Cougars are happy to celebrate another gold medal.
“We had a target on our backs all year, and we really wanted to prove that we could do it again,” Linker said. “We worked hard, we focused and we never let up. I don’t want to sound cocky or anything like that, but we deserve this.”
Star of the match: Megan Bunyer, Eastland, 17 kills
Key performers:
Katelyn Hasken, Eastland, 13 kills, 8 digs, 3 aces
Courtney Blair, Eastland, 9 kills, 3 blocks
Hope Linker, Eastland, 36 assists, 8 digs
Kerby Kniss, Eastland, 21 digs
Lindsey Durchholz, Mt. Pulaski, 16 digs
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