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Borgia Head Coach John Nieder said it was a painful loss.
"Right now, it hurts a whole lot," said Nieder. "The players are really sad, especially having six seniors, five of them who have been playing every single game. For their season to end short of their dreams is really sad. We're trying to remind the kids to focus on the positive things which happened this year. We had wins over Mater Dei in our tournament, Lafayette in the Springfield Tournament and Helias at home. There were some real positive things which happened this year. We just didn't get to fulfill our dreams and get to state this year. You grow from that and hope the underclassmen will remember this. You just have to fight that much harder next season."
Despite the loss to Villa Duchesne, at least one Borgia connection will be headed to the MSHSAA Class 3 state tournament. Borgia graduate Jenna Holdmeyer is one of Weber's assistants.
"I'm good friends with Coach Nieder," Weber said. "I want to take my hat off to him, his staff and his kids. They're an excellent group of kids and an excellent coaching staff. They deserve all the credit in the world, too."
Weber felt ball control was a key factor in the match.
"We worked hard and it was just a matter of good ball control," Weber said. "I think that's what made a difference for us."
St. Dominic
The Lady Knights were eager to defeat St. Dominic, the team which ended Borgia's run in the sectional finals last year.
"That was a good win," Nieder said. "We were really happy with the way we won. It was neck and neck in the first game and could have gone either way. In the second game, we put it into cruise control and played really great. That was a good win for us."
The Lady Knights jumped out to a big lead early in the contest and went up 8-2 on an ace by junior Katie Politte. However, St. Dominic surged back to tie it at 8-8 and then took the lead.
Borgia bounced back with junior Hannah Miller getting a kill to tie it at 9-9, but the Lady Knights couldn't regain momentum. St. Dominic led by as much as three points, 12-9, before Borgia started to come back.
The Lady Knights tied it at 13-13, but fell behind briefly again. The match was tied at each point through 19-19 before Borgia got back-to-back points from sophomore Krissi Fitzpatrick and junior Jodi Klott. St. Dominic came back to take the lead, 22-21 and again at 23-22 before Borgia turned it up and won the game. A service error tied it and a pair of attack errors gave Borgia the game.
In the second game, the Lady Knights came out flat and fell behind, 4-1. Borgia came back to tie it at 5-5 on a kill by Politte and then went on a run. Politte served one ace on a five-point run while Fitzpatrick put down a couple of blocks and junior Hannah Miller had a kill.
After that run, the Lady Knights weren't threatened again. Borgia hit another successful rotation when senior Allison Feldmann put eight points in a row over the net. She had one ace. Politte added two kills and junior Abby Graham also had a kill.
St. Dominic stopped Feldmann short of ending the match, but an error by the Lady Crusaders handed Borgia the victory.
With that match completed, the Lady Knights waited for the Villa Duchesne-Westminster Christian winner in the sectional title contest.
Villa Duchesne
Villa Duchesne, a team Borgia beat in the first round of the sectional event last year, emerged with a three-game win over Westminster Christian in the other first-round game, 25-19, 21-25, 25-16.
"Westminster is our biggest rival," Weber said. "I know Borgia has some battles with Washington. It's the same type of rivalry. Any given day, we can win or lose that match. It's such a big rivalry. You never know how it's going to turn out."
The Saints carried their momentum over to the Borgia match, jumping out to an 8-0 lead before Borgia could score.
"I thought Villa Duchesne might have been a little more worn down than they were," said Nieder. "They were ready and they came out on fire. They really played good defense. We were not able to contain their offense."
Villa Duchesne used every weapon in its arsenal against Borgia. Alexis Federer, who served seven of those points, put over an ace. The Saints also fed the ball to their star middle hitter, senior Frankie Vain, who pounded down kills and then picked up her teammates with emotional celebrations. Borgia fought back and got to within two points, 11-9, on a kill by senior Lauren Baumstark. But Villa Duchesne picked it up and went on another run to go up by five points. Borgia went on another run late in the match, but lost by a 25-19 score.
In the second game, Villa Duchesne again jumped to a large early lead.
Borgia fought back and tied the game at 11-11 on a big kill by Politte. But Villa Duchesne scored the next two points. Borgia wasn't ready to give up. The Lady Knights knotted the score at 18-18, but another error put the Saints back on top.
"We trailed the whole time," said Nieder. "It was a matter of chasing them. We never had control of either game. When you get into that position, the girls get into a safe mode. The girls need to be playing their game with less fear. That didn't happen."
This time, Villa Duchesne made the lead stick, outscoring Borgia, 7-2.
Throughout the match, Borgia had trouble coping with Vain. The Lady Knights did everything to try to stop her. Many times when the ball was blocked, it was hit so hard that it flew out of bounds.
Borgia graduates five girls who played just about every game in Mary Engemann, Hillary Hausmann, Allison Feldmann, Sara Mohesky and Lauren Baumstark. Also on the team was Demi Maniaci, who missed her second season in a row with another ACL injury which required surgery. At least three of the girls will be playing college volleyball.
Nieder thanked the girls for their contributions and feels Borgia has a good group coming back next year.
"We've got three of our top hitters and a very fine setter in Sarah Braun coming back," said Nieder. "We're very optimistic how things will look next season."
The season continues for Villa Duchesne.
"The good thing is that I have a young team," Weber said about his team's trip to the state tournament. "I've got three sophomores who start. Last year winning the district for the first time in school history and getting to the sectional was a good experience. With some of the younger kids and the high level of club ball they play in the offseason, they are used to playing in the big arenas. They've never been to state. We'll work hard on team building this week and get a lot of touches and hope to have ball control. We're going to need everything we have and more to win up there."
