FORT MADISON - The best thing about a young team learning to play together is when the education produces a big win.
Holy Trinity’s 25-17, 27-25, 24-26, 15-25, 15-11 victory over West Burlington on Thursday night was another teachable moment for the Crusaders, an up-and-down match provided an early exam on how much they have grown.
“I thought at times we responded, and at times we did not,” Holy Trinity coach Melissa Freesmeier said. “But we know what we need to do when we are good. And these games teach us a lot.”
“It was a crazy game,” said junior middle hitter Presley Myers, who had a career-high 23 kills and a team-high six blocks. “Five sets, that’s never ideal. But we were never going to give up.”
The Crusaders (3-2 overall, 2-0 SEI Superconference South Division), ranked fifth in Class 1A, had a 10-point run to take control of the first set, and came back from set point in the second set, scoring the final three points.
But the Falcons (14-2, 1-1), ranked ninth in Class 2A, fought off Holy Trinity with two kills from Brenna Beggs in the third set, then controlled the fourth set, leading 19-6 at one point.
“The first two sets, we had really good energy,” Myers said. “And that third set, we lost. And the fourth set, we lost again. And we had to come together and say we have to do everything together. We have to do everything together, win or lose.”
“It says that we can do anything,” freshman outside hitter Olivia Bendlage said. “We went down in sets three and four. We couldn't pass. We were struggling a little bit. And then we gave them some tips. We just needed more energy.”
“We didn’t get the ball where we needed to,” Freesmeier said. “We struggled with our serve receive and didn’t communicate well.
“But in that fifth set, we dialed in and took it home.”
Holy Trinity took control of the fifth set with three consecutive points with the set tied at 7. Junior Emma Mohrfeld, one of the newcomers to the rotation this season, scored on a tip. Teagan Snaadt delivered an ace, then Bendlage hammered a cross-court kill.
“She came out with some big plays,” Freesmeier said of Bendlage, who had season highs with 13 kills and 26 digs. “She was big late when we needed her.”
“The experience, for me, it means a lot,” Bendlage said. “I’ve been waiting for it. I feel like the most thing that helps me through all this is I get comfort from the older girls. Presley is really good with that. She really knows how to comfort me when I'm down. She knows how to encourage me when I make mistakes and stuff like that.”
Myers was responsible for four of the Crusaders’ final five points. Her tip that found an opening in the Falcons’ defense set up match point, then her last kill finished the win.
It was a little more than a week ago when Holy Trinity opened the season by going 1-2 in the Wapello Tournament. The Crusaders swept a road match against division opponent Danville on Tuesday before taking down a big division rival.
“We have so many girls coming in and playing spots that they've never played before, and they're really just doing amazing,” Myers said. “Three weeks ago, we are not the team we are today, and we're definitely just working on growing. Every day in the gym, we're not the same team we were yesterday or the day before that.”
“They battled,” Freesmeier said. “I know that they put a lot of pressure on themselves, but these kids have got it.”
HOLY TRINITY STATISTICS
Kills — Presley Myers 23, Adalyn Kruse 21, Olivia Bendlage 13, Emma Mohrfeld 5, Anna Bendlage 5, Elizabeth Griffin 4.
Assists — A.Bendlage 38, Griffin 20.
Serving — Teagan Snaadt 21-21 (1 ace), Kruse 14-15, Griffin 15-17 (1), O.Bendlage 12-13 (1), Myers 9-11 (1), A.Bendlage 17-18 (1)
Digs — Snaadt 33, Griffin 32, O.Bendlage 26, Griffin 21, A.Bendlage 11, Myers 5, Mohrfeld 2
Blocks — Myers 6, Mohrfeld 3, A.Bendlage 2, O.Bendlage 1
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