YUTAN — One victory away from a state tournament berth, Elgin Public-Pope John was denied by Yutan in the C2-5 District championship game.
Playing on their home court, Yutan defeated the Wolfpack 25-15, 25-20, 24-26 and 25-17 to earn a trip to the state tournament to be played later this week.
The Chieftains came into the match with just one loss and, behind a boisterous crowd, came out on fire. The Wolfpack started the match with a milestone moment as senior Chloe Henn’s first swing was a kill, giving her 1,000 for her high school career. She would finish with 18 kills in the match and 1,017 for a career.
“It was our game plan to use our middle hitters as much as possible,” Wolfpack Coach Jordynn Luettel said. “Because of the velocity of the way our middles hit, it was gonna be hard for them to pick up.”
Freshman Morgan Long’s strong serving sparked a run which saw Yutan jump out to a 13 to 9 lead. Aiding in the effort was the team’s front row, particularly Gabi Tederman and Mylee Tichota.
Tederman proved to be a thorn in the Wolfpack’s side as she had a run of three kills, the last giving Yutan a 19 to 13 lead.
Tichota then closed out the set with three ace serves.
Set #2 was almost a carbon copy as EPPJ stayed close early on only to see Yutan build a five-point lead midway through the set. Keeping EPPJ within striking distance were Kate Furstenau and Sara Bode each with ace serves.
Tederman had three ace serves as Yutan built a 20 to 10 lead. EPPJ started a run when Chloe Henn and Natalie Burenheide combined for a stuff block. The Wolfpack put together back-to-back-to-back kills as Braelyn Martinsen teamed up with Bode and Henn.
The teams then traded points before Yutan closed out the set.
Facing an uphill challenge in Set #3, EPPJ answered back as setters Elizabeth Moser and Camry Kittelson found success getting the ball where Bode, Martinsen and Mady Kurpgeweit answered with big hits to give EPPJ an eight to four lead.
….See more at this week’s Elgin Review
