Mascoutah tops MVC rival Waterloo for return trip to 3A super-sectional
BELLEVILLE – Five minutes after Mascoutah lost to Lincoln last year in the Class 3A Taylorville Super-Sectional, outside hitter Avery Boehm had a thought creep into her head.
"I can't wait for next year," she remembered saying Thursday night.
Next year is here. And so is Boehm – and the Indians' – chance at redemption. Not to mention a trip to the state semifinals.
Mascoutah got itself back to the same juncture it reached last year with a 25-19, 25-19 victory over Waterloo for the championship of the Class 3A Salem Sectional. The match was moved to Southwestern Illinois College since two metro-east teams were involved.
The Indians and Bulldogs' fan bases combined to nearly pack the gym and the crowd saw a pretty respectable spectacle. Waterloo (25-13) competed bravely, holding a 12-11 lead in the first set and making Mascoutah (32-7) earn almost everything it got.
"They played a great match," Boehm said.
But the Indians were just a little bit better across the board, beginning with Boehm. The 5-10 junior, who jumps as though someone inserted a battery pack in her shoes, pounded down 11 kills to lead their typically balanced attack.
Jami Love, freshman Kinze Reese and Lana Knoebel combined for 16 kills. Setter Emma Price collected 17 assists, using Boehm regularly but feeding others often enough to keep the Bulldogs guessing.
"They have an arsenal of hitters," said Waterloo coach Angie Crawford.
That's why Crawford didn't sound like a coach whose team had lost two steps shy of a state tournament bid. Even the most hard-boiled cynic in an audience that numbered four figures couldn't have helped but admire the Bulldogs' grit in the face of steep odds and a resolute opponent.
Basketball coaches like to say that good teams trust their stuff. That is, even when things aren't going well, they keep running the plays that they know will work sooner or latter. That composure was pretty evident in a wild first game where Waterloo opened up with a 3-0 lead, fell behind 7-3 and then rallied for its second lead.
"Waterloo was blocking and they were scrappy," said Mascoutah coach Brooke Kloess. "But our girls kept their composure and their control the entire way through. They continued to trust themselves and their preparation.
"They played volleyball the way they know how to play."
Eventually, that was enough. Grace Mak fueled a 5-0 burst with consecutive blocks and the Indians controlled the set's remainder.
It was 9-7 in the second game when Mascoutah reached for the X button again. Boehm's kill and Love's roof block in the middle keyed a 7-2 run and the lead was seven. The Bulldogs made the Indians use four match points before the celebration started but simply couldn't stave off the inevitable.
"I could not be more proud of my girls," Crawford said. "They've had to adjust to injury and illness, work with different lineups, and they did everything they could. They worked really hard and tried to control every area of the game.
"We knew what we were facing, worked on where those hitters were putting the ball ... but ultimately, we had to do a little bit more at the net. We did all we could."
Mascoutah plays Mahomet-Seymour, which stopped Normal University in a three-set match for the championship of its sectional, at 6 p.m. Monday in the Effingham Super-Sectional.
"We've been playing together since we were 8 years old," Boehm said. "If we make it to state, I might just cry."
