As SLUH closes out its last week of classes, we at the Prep News are reporting on our last games and writing out our last articles of the year, but the varsity volleyball team is not done yet. Over the last week, they’ve played two games in preparation for their battle for the state title, winning both.

The first of these games was against CBC last Thursday, May 13. As the last home game before districts, the team took the time to recognize the seniors on the team with funny anecdotes to introduce them, candids of them to pose by, and bouquets of flowers to give to their parents. It’s a sweet ceremony that most players look forward to throughout their volleyball career at SLUH

Following the short celebration, the Jr. Bills were thrust right into the action, allotted a limited time to warm up to prevent the game and ceremony from going long. 

SLUH quickly got off to an early lead following a 5-point service run from junior setter Ben Harmon. This run from Harmon would end up being the longest run from SLUH in the set; a long, bumpy road paved the rest of the game.

Most of CBC’s early points came from SLUH offensive errors, CBC lacking the needed offensive labero for a decent chunk of the set, and their scrappy defense tended to keep the ball live just long enough to return it over to the SLUH court. In the meantime, SLUH made sure to offer their seniors a chance to serve. Both senior middle hitter Michael Krausz and senior right side Ben McCabe were able to get some points in, McCabe forcing a timeout from CBC after hitting two consecutive aces and putting SLUH up 14-7. CBC came out of the timeout strong, scoring several consecutive hits against SLUH. But it wasn’t enough. Senior outside hitter Brendan McLaughlin made sure of that, intercepting a ball that got a little too close to the net and effectively cinching the win for SLUH with a final score of 25-20.

The start of the second set saw the starters back in their usual positions with SLUH hoping to establish authority early on. That hope was quickly squashed as CBC won the first three points of the set, but it didn’t take long for SLUH to catch up, and a 7-point service run from senior outside hitter Peter Quinn set them up with a strong lead. SLUH gradually increased this lead as CBC struggled to even touch the ball. A pipe from McCabe and successful joust from Quinn put the score at 18-9. In the blink of an eye, it was 20-10, and SLUH was getting ready to close out the set. CBC didn’t like that. After a jump serve into the net from Krausz, CBC began to close the gap. Soon they were within six points of SLUH, but it wasn’t enough. SLUH closed out the set quickly, finishing 25-18.

CBC started strong again at the start of the third set, again winning the first three points. SLUH in turn closed the gap in points, just like the previous set, but Cheak was tired of SLUH’s poor defensive plays.

“Why are we not covering that ball? The ball shouldn’t hit the floor,” Cheak said after three players had watched the ball drop. CBC was now ahead. 

Thankfully for SLUH, CBC forgot their rotation order and was called for being out of rotation. A series of ties ensued until CBC pulled ahead at 12-10. They kept that lead until a timeout from SLUH at 12-15 energized the Jr. Billikens and pushed them to a 4-point run. It was CBC’s turn to call a timeout now. SLUH kept a lead of at least two points for the rest of the game, finishing it out at 25-22. The sets were surprisingly close in comparison to prior games against CBC, and one of the reasons may have been the energy on both teams. Throughout the game, CBC celebrated every single point. Every. One. While it may have gotten a bit annoying for the SLUH side, it’s safe to say that it kept CBC’s spirits high. In contrast, SLUH seemed consistently calm throughout the whole ordeal, neither over-energized nor deflated. The energy didn’t end up doing CBC much good as SLUH walked away with another win under their belt, yet to sport any losses—in sets or games.

The Fort Zumwalt South game was less close. There’s really only one word that could be used to describe SLUH’s play during the game: dominance. Taking place this past Monday, May 18 at SLUH, the game was the first district volleyball game. 

Throughout the entire first set, SLUH’s all-around play was impeccable. It started like most sets where SLUH plays well, Zumwalt calling a timeout at 10-2, but things really started cranking up when junior libero Craig Ortwerth got up to serve. He went on a 12-point run—the longest of the year. Junior outside hitter Philip Bone played a large part in making sure that run didn’t die, his attacks melting the Zumwalt defense and taking advantage of their late blocks. Zumwalt’s play was generally poor throughout the set, but in the final points, they started to get a hang of their blocking. SLUH won the set 25-5, the biggest point difference so far.

The first tie of the game took place at the beginning of the second set at 2-2. SLUH kept up the dominating force, but Zumwalt’s blocks began to hit more and more, forcing SLUH to scramble to recover. The first timeout from Zumwalt was at 12-3 SLUH, but it proved unhelpful. A save from PQ on a botched block set SLUH ahead 19-7 eleven points later, and some brief back-and-forth points ended the set 25-12.

In the final set, SLUH continued its strong play, setting themselves apart with an early lead. The only big run Zumwalt had throughout the entire set was due to some SLUH errors, putting them within five points of SLUH. SLUH, in all sets, made Fort Zumwalt West look like an 8th grade team playing at the high school level. As 25 points neared for SLUH, the seniors played their last points at home and a JV player had a chance to take the court, now full of the juniors who will inherit the team next year. The set ended 25-13, and the win-loss ratio of SLUH’s sets increased to 68-0.

The next game is Saturday, May 22 at SLUH. The team they will play has yet to be determined, but one thing’s for sure: SLUH is ready.