Pacific swept its way through the St. Clair Volleyball Tournament to claim the team title for the second straight season.
The Lady Indians (18-6-1) did not lose a game in their four matches last Saturday. They captured their pool with wins over St. James and St. Clair, knocked off Warrenton in the semifinals and defeated St. Clair in the championship contest.
“The girls were very excited about winning the tournament two years in a row,” said Pacific Head Coach Janel Brown. “All of the girls contributed during the day and really gave the team a spark when we needed it the most. It was great to get four more wins under our belts this late in the season.”
Championship Match
Pacific defeated the tournament’s biggest surprise, St. Clair, in the title contest, 25-16, 25-18.
“We had to come back from a long break since St. Clair and Union went three sets in their semifinal match,” Brown said. “We controlled the match from the start. The girls really wanted to win.”
Kersten McDonough finished the match with 12 kills, four digs, one block and one ace.
Ashley Hill added seven kills and four digs.
Abby Spuhl Registered 19 assists, four digs, one kill and one block.
Allyson Armstrong collected eight digs, two aces and one block.
Emily Weaver had three kills, three digs, two aces and one block.
Ellen Rogers added four digs. Jackie Dann had two digs and one ace.
Pacific played the tournament without injured hitter Amber Fuller.
“Kersten and Emily really hit the ball well. Our serve receive was strong, which is one thing we consistently struggle with,” Brown said. “We started slow in the second set, but luckily some key serving by Allyson gave us a spark.”
Semifinals
Pacific topped Warrenton in the semifinals, 25-19, 25-20.
“I was concerned about how we would play with such a long break, but the girls came out with some fire,” Brown said. “We did a really nice job with serve receive, which helped Abby set up all of our hitters. We had to adjust to Warrenton’s setter tipping on us, but the girls did a much better job of defense.”
Spuhl finished the match with 19 assists, four digs, one kill and one block.
McDonough smashed 12 kills to go with four digs, one block and one ace.
Hill collected seven kills and four digs. Weaver had three kills, three digs, two aces and one block.
Armstrong added eight digs, two aces and one block. Rogers registered four digs. Dann had two digs and one ace.
Pool Matches
Pacific opened pool play with a win over St. James, 25-14, 25-16.
Spuhl registered 12 assists, three digs and one ace.
McDonough connected for six kills, four digs, two aces and one block.
Weaver collected four kills and one block.
Dann finished with two kills, two digs and two aces.
Hill added five digs. Rogers recorded five digs. Ashley Whitmore had one dig and one ace. Armstrong had one dig.
Pacific then defeated St. Clair, 25-11, 29-27.
The Lady Indians fought off two game points by St. Clair to win the second set.
McDonough finished with nine kills, three aces and two digs.
Spuhl had 15 assists, two kills and two digs.
Dann added three kills and six digs.
Weaver added two kills, three digs, one block and one ace.
Hill collected two kills, two aces, one block, one dig and one assist.
“We played very solid during pool play. The girls really came to play. We did not make very many errors, which gave us a lot of confidence,” Brown said. “We did hit one bad stretch during the St. Clair game. We had the match under control, but lost focus during serve receive and let them back into the game. We made too many unforced errors.”
Ft. Zumwalt North
Pacific won Monday at home over Ft. Zumwalt North, 16-25, 25-20, 25-20.
“Ellen Rogers had a good night defensively. She talked and picked up many deep tips,” Brown said. “Ashley Hill also played strong in the back row.”
