Lady Eagles Win Districts
The Lady Eagles won the Class 3 District 9 championship on Monday.
Sullivan's volleyball team had a dominant season and this game wasn't any different.
Sullivan defeated the Salem Lady Tigers in four sets to win the first championship since 2018. Sullivan won the first two sets, 25-16 and 25-23. Salem won the third set, 25-18. The Lady Eagles finished off the Lady Tigers in the fourth set, 25-14.
In the first set, Sullivan took control of the game. The game was back and forth and Salem’s crowd came alive when the Lady Tigers made the game 10-9. The run came to a stop Olivia Witt sent one over the net and spiked another one. The Lady Tigers took a time out when the score was 13-9. Maci Nolie was the server and the Lady Eagles made the score 15-10 before Salem took over. Sullivan took control back over and the Lady Tigers took another timeout when they were down by eight, 18-10. Emma Brune kept adding to her kills on the season when she made the score 20-11. Witt collapsed Salem with another spike and won the first set, 25-16.
In the second set, Salem put up a bigger fight. Salem scored the first four points unanswered. Sullivan made the score 5-4 when Salem had a ball hit the net. Sullivan’s head coach Sarah Rochleau took a timeout when Sullivan was down, 9-4. The Lady Tigers took a timeout when Sullivan started on a roll, 13-8. Salem took another timeout when Sullivan tied the match at 14. Salem scored the next points, but Sullivan tied up the game again at 16. The Lady Eagles took the lead, but the Lady Tigers tied the score at 19. After a long rally, Salem took the lead, but Sullivan tied it again. The second set was intense with Salem tying it at 22. Stevi Saling broke the tie, but Salem tied it again. Brune finished off the set when she scored the next two points and Sullivan won, 25-23.
In the third set, Salem’s momentum from the previous set paid off. Sullivan scored the first point, but Salem took control, but Sullivan tied it back up. Sullivan tied it again at 4 when Salem had a ball in the net. The Lady Tigers put up a fight, but Brune shut them down again when Sullivan led, 10-8. Coach Rochleau took a timeout after Salem tied the score at 11 and took the lead. Sullivan had a ball hit the net, 15-11. Brune bridged the gap again with another kill, 19-16. Coach Rochleau took another timeout when Sullivan was down by five, 22-17. Salem won the third set, 25-18.
In the fourth set, Sullivan closed it out. The Lady Eagles finished off Salem. Sullivan led and Salem gave them a score with a ball in the net, 5-3. Ava Blankenship scored a kill with the score 6-4 and Salem took a time out with the score 8-5. Coach Rochleau took a timeout when Salem made Sullivan nervous, 12-11. Salem tied it after the break, but Brune broke the tie. Raegan Johnson was serving and Salem took a time out, 16-12. Sullivan took a big lead and Salem scored their next point, 21-13. Saling sailed another point, 23-14. The Lady Eagles became district champs with the final set score being 25-14.
Brune led in kills with 17 and she had four points. Witt followed with eight kills. She also had three aces and ten points. Blankenship and Saling each had four kills. Johnson secured two kills, three aces, and eight points. Emily Clonts scored one kill, two aces, and seven points.
Nolie led the team in assists with 34. She also notched three kills, one ace, and ten points.