Present here: Warriors knock out Dixon with team-record 21st win

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Sterling freshman Jennifer Rahn (right) blocks a kill attempt by Dixon senior Katie Kleinmaier. Rahn and the Golden Warriors won and will play Geneseo on Saturday for the championship of the Class 3A Geneseo Regional. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@svnmail.com)

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GENESEO – Sterling senior outside hitter Brittney Schreiner got just what she wanted for her 18th birthday: a postseason victory.

Schreiner and her Golden Warriors volleyball teammates broke the team record for wins Thursday night with a 25-15, 25-14 victory against Dixon in a Geneseo Regional semifinal.

“It’s probably the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Schreiner said. “We did this last year, but it was a different feeling. We broke the record for most wins at Sterling High School. It’s a really good feeling.”

Sterling (21-11), the No. 2 seed in the four-team regional, advances to a regional championship showdown with Geneseo’s top-seeded Maple Leafs at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Leafs topped Rock Island 25-22, 25-13 in Thursday’s first match.

“I feel good about it,” Schreiner said of facing Geneseo. “We’re ready for it.”

“Geneseo’s a great team,” Sterling coach Alexis Rivera said.

“They have a great coaching staff, and they’re really well-trained,” Rivera continued. “They beat us on our home floor, and we beat them on theirs.”

Leading 5-4 in the opening game, the Warriors took control with a 13-1 blitz that made it 18-5. Senior right-side hitter Keeley Knie had four of her eight kills in the flurry, which also included a pair of kills by freshman hitter Krista Loos.

“We came out strong,” Schreiner said. “That’s what we’ve been working on.”

Dixon (5-21) made a run late in Game 1, pulling within 7 twice, the latter instance at 22-15. Evanne Deatherage led the Duchesses’ push, providing three kills and an ace.

Sterling closed the game with kills by Schreiner, Knie and freshman middle hitter Jennifer Rahn.

“We did not perform as well as we have in practice,” Dixon coach Dave Dornbusch said. “Some of that was a little bit of nerves.”

The Warriors scored the first six points of Game 2 and never looked back. Leading 10-4, Sterling ripped five straight points, thanks in large part to a string of three kills by junior middle hitter Morgan Martells, who finished with eight.

“Sterling played the best I’ve seen them play this year,” he said. “If they play like this for the rest of the postseason, they will go a ways.”

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