by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com
St. Joseph Christian Lions hosted West Platte Blue Jays and East Buchanan Bulldogs at their annual Volleyball jamboree on Saturday, August 20. The jamboree featured 3 sets against both teams. Each set started with the score at 4-4 going to 25 points. And unlike the regular season, the set could end without a team winning by 2.
The matchups were:
- St. Joseph Christian vs. West Platte
- West Platte vs. East Buchanan
- St. Joseph Christian vs. East Buchanan
Match #1
In the first match, West Platte got out to out to a 9-4 lead after scoring the first 5 points. The Lions cut the lead to 11-10 before West Platte extended the lead to 17-12. After a St. Joseph Christian timeout, the Lions would hit the next shot long to fall behind by 6 points. That is when the tide turned. Maya Freudenthal had a kill that was just in. The next two points featured a key block by Ella Bowman and dig by Chloe Burnahm to make it 18-15. Christian cut it to 18-16 on the next volley. Ella Bowman blocked a kill attempt by West Platte. The ball hung up on the net for several seconds before coming back down. Bowman was able to concentrate and hit it back over where West Platte double hit the ball.
After a West Platte Kill to go up 19-16, the Lions scored the next 4 courtesy of two more Bowman kills, a Jaci Jorgensen kill and an ace by Danika Wattenbarger. The Lions were able to finish off the set with a 25-22 win.
In set #2, the Lions got out to an 8-4 lead before West Platte cut the lead to 10-9. Then Christian went on another 4 point run. Bowman was huge in this stretch with 2 blocks and another kill. West Platte would close it to 14-12, but another run by the Lions ended any hope for West Platte. St. Joseph Christian won the second set 25-18
In set #3, West Platte got off to a great start scoring the first 4 points. Christian called a timeout, but that did not stop the Blue Jays. They stretched it out to a 12-5 lead which led to another Lions timeout. Too many mental mistakes by St. Joseph Christian put them into too large of a deficit. They would close to within 3 at 13-10, but West Platte pulled away to win 25-16
St. Joseph Christian won the match 2 sets to 1 against West Platte.
Match #2
I did not cover the second match since their were no GRC teams involved, but the final scores were:
- East Buchanan 25 West Platte 23
- West Platte 25 East Buchanan 20
- West Platte 25 East Buchanan 7
In the last set, East Buchanan played their 2nd string/JV, so I would not consider that one representative of their true potential.
Match #3
St. Joseph Christian faced East Buchanan in the final match of the jamboree. The first two sets of the match were very tight. In set #1, the Lions got out to a 10-5 start, but it was fueled by a lot mistakes by East Buchanan. However, they were able to right the ship and took a 12-11 lead over St. Joseph Christian. After both the runs, both teams went back and forth with the Lions eventually getting out to a 20-17 lead. However, they had 4 straight possessions with mistakes to go down 21-20. Both teams went back and forth until the game was tied at 24-24 until St. Joseph Christian ended it with a kill to win 25-24.
In set #2, East Buchanan got out to a strong start. They had several big kills with some aces sprinkled in to go up 13-7. Then the Lions went on another run to tie it at 15. Ella Dubois, Ella Bowman and Maya Freudenthal all had kills during this run, but there was also a key stretch were the Bulldogs made mistakes to help out the Lions. From there, the set went back and forth. The set was tied at 23 when East Buchanan hit the ball into the net to give the Lions game point. After that, Chloe Burnham finished the game off with a kill. The Lions won 25-23.
In set #3, East Buchanan once again played their 2nd string/JV. They were able to hang tough for a while. They were only down four at 17-13, but St. Joseph Christian was able to finish it for a 25-15 victory.
Final Thoughts
I think St. Joseph Christian was the top team at the jamboree by a thin margin. It was obvious that the Lions were a little rusty to start. They were making errors and mental mistakes. But when they are focused and playing well, they are very good. They defeated two very good teams today. They will have to clean up some mental mistakes, but their potential is very high.
I talked to Christian coach Erin Patrick after the first match against West Platte.
Stats
Serves
Laurel DuBois, 27-30, 90.0%, 3 Aces
Danika Wattenbarger, 23-26, 88.5%, 3 Aces
Charlee Stanley, 18-20, 90.0%
Ella Bowman, 15-16, 93.8%
Chloe Burnham, 9-10, 90.0%
Maya Freudenthal, 7-11, 63.6%, 1 Ace
Total, 99-113, 87.6%, 7 Aces
Kills-Attacks
Ella Bowman, 16-50, 32.0%
Chloe Burnham, 13-31, 41.9%
Jaci Jorgensen, 10-46, 21.7%
Maya Freudenthal, 5-29, 17.2%
Danika Wattenbarger, 4-11, 36.4%
Ella DuBois, 3-20, 15.0%
Total, 51-187, 27.3%
Assists
Danika Wattenbarger, 40
Ella DuBois, 3
Maya Freudenthal, 2
Charlee Stanley, 1
Chloe Burnham, 1
Jaci Jorgensen, 1
Blocks
Ella Bowman, 9
Ella DuBois, 3
Chloe Burnham, 2
Digs
Maya Freudenthal, 30
Ella Bowman, 20
Chloe Burnham, 12
Charlee Stanley, 11
Danika Wattenbarger, 9
Haidyn Gardner, 9
Jaci Jorgensen, 2
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