SJEL volleyball team celebrates seniors

ST. JOHN - The St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse (SJEL) Eagles varsity team concluded the volleyball season with Senior Night on Saturday, Oct. 26.

The Eagles had a big week of volleyball with three matches in five days to end the regular season. SJEL defeated Tekoa-Rosalia, 3-0, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, fell to Pomeroy, 3-0, on Thursday, Oct. 26, and lost to Garfield-Palouse (Gar-Pal), 3-0, on Saturday, Oct. 26.

On Saturday, the Eagles celebrated its three seniors, middle hitter Kate Hergert, outside hitter Avery Fleming and team manager Olivia Shawgo.

Shawgo used to play on the volleyball team, but this year is doing Running Start, so with the workload it was not viable to play. Being a team manager allows her to still be part of the team.

"She's awesome to have on the bench," said SJEL coach Jenn Johnson. "I really rely on her and she lives up to the task and difficulty of keeping stats."

The Senior Night match against Gar-Pal began with a kill by Kyra Brantner and an ace by Morgan Lentz for the Vikings. A serve out of bounds and an ace by SJEL tied the set at 2-2. The set would again be tied 10 more times before the score reached 13-13.

Three aces by Lentz helped the Vikings to a 25-19 set one win.

The Vikings came out to an 11-5 lead in set two, but a block kill and an ace by Fleming helped the Eagles stay in the set.

Fleming returned to the court this season after dealing with a torn ACL.

"She's a powerhouse," Johnson said. "She can smack the ball, she can play wherever. Down in Pomeroy she got complimented for her passing. She's just an all-around great athlete."

The Eagles brought the score to within five at 19-14, but Gar-Pal turned on the jets and won set two, 25-17.

SJEL came out in set three with a 2-0 lead, but Gar-Pal quickly tied it up. After several back-and-forths, the set was again tied, 9-9, before the Vikings went on a run and gained a 19-13 lead.

After a timeout, SJEL staged a comeback, scoring the next six points in a row, which began with a kill by Hergert.

Hergert had knee surgery in March and came back to the court this season to help lead the Eagles.

"Kate is just leadership," Johnson said. "You can feel the energy change when she's on the court. She brings intensity, she brings excitement. The girls lift up when she's out there."

The Vikings would gain a one-point advantage, but the Eagles would answer and tie the set back up until the score was 24-24.

A double-touch rule by SJEL and a kill by Gar-Pal's Bowechop gave the Vikings the 26-24 set win, and won the match, 3-0.

"What I said in the locker room, the team that started off this season would have given up," Johnson said. "The dropped faces, we didn't have that. We're growing and fighting and when Gar-Pal was putting in their bench, they had to put their starters back in and that's everything you want in a coach. That means your team is not giving up and they're still fighting for that win."

Fleming led the Eagles with seven kills with junior Chloe Waddell adding six. Junior Sophie Anderson had a team-high four aces in the match, and Hergert, Waddell and Anderson each had one block. Waddell and junior Catalina Torres each led with 11 digs on the night, and Anderson notched 24 assists.

The Eagles began the Southeast 1B volleyball tournament against Walla Walla Valley Academy at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, after press time. Walla Walla sports a record of 12-1 on the season.

"Upset Nation, that's the goal," Johnson said.