The seniors might have finished up their final weeks of school, but the volleyball team still has a few more to put its final touches on their play. After victories over Chaminade and Vianney, the team now has an unblemished record of 24-0 and has a set record of 62-0. 

The school’s top passers and attackers easily made their way past Chaminade last Tuesday, May 4, defeating the Red Devils by scores of 25-12, 25-8, and 25-14. 

SLUH next matched up against Vianney on Thursday, May 6. The referee of the match was one of the best in St. Louis, known for officiating the biggest and best matches of the season. However, the referee seemed to be trivial to the match because the scores were not close enough to make a call that could make or break the winner. Vianney vs. SLUH is known around St. Louis as one of the biggest rivalries in high school volleyball, but rather than a close match with back-and-forth play, the Jr. Bills dominated the entire highly-anticipated match. 

Senior outside Peter Quinn got off to a hot start, contributing two aces and a kill to put SLUH up 4-1. After this early run, the Jr. Bills seemed to have the edge over the Griffins the entire first set. The lead only got larger, forcing a Vianney timeout at 11-5. Although the timeout initially seemed unsuccessful for the Griffins, they put together a string of points to lower the large SLUH lead. Even this was not enough to stop the dominating nature of the Jr. Bills. SLUH earned a point to end the Vianney run, now up 18-11. 

The Griffins once again went on a mini-run, coming within four points of the Jr. Bills. However, just like the entirety of the set, SLUH had an answer. Quinn had a well-placed kill to give the Jr. Bills set point at 24-19. Junior right side hitter Michael Yemm tallied the final kill, SLUH winning 25-19. 

The second set proved to be even more dominated by the Jr. Bills. Vianney committed multiple errors and SLUH attackers pummeled the ball to the ground to put the Jr. Bills up 6-1. 

The momentum was already heavily on SLUH’s side, but a long rally reinforced the overwhelming pressure the Jr. Bills were putting on the Griffins. A broken play resulted in an overpass opportunity for Vianney. The Griffin outside hitter put up a big and strong hit, but a dig by junior libero Craig Ortwerth kept the ball alive. Then, junior outside hitter Phillip Bone was set and he put away a blistering kill, ending the long point. This was arguably the moment where everyone in the gym knew that a Vianney comeback was unlikely, if not, impossible. Even Vianney’s own head coach sensed this mood of the gym, resulting in a Griffin timeout with SLUH up 10-3. 

A run by Bone widened the gap between the two teams, the Jr. Bills now up by twelve at a score of 16-4. Many points later, Vianney called a timeout at 21-8 for a last chance to try to string together a comeback. The comeback never came to be, the Griffins only earning one more point. 

An ace by Quinn put the set to an end at 25-9. 

The third set was just as much as commanded by the Jr. Bills as the first two. A lead of 8-5 by SLUH might have seemed slim, but the mood on the court and the attitudes of players on both teams suggested that SLUH was the commanding force. 

But the Griffins slowly fought their way back into the match, tying it up at ten. After two sets of comfortable leads, the Jr. Bills finally had competition to play against. They would have to figure out how to use their momentum to get out of this tight position.  

And figure it out they did. Quinn went on a serving run that put SLUH up 14-10. After multiple errors by the Griffins, their coach called a timeout at 16-12. However, the Griffin errors continued, helping SLUH inch its way closer to victory. After more pressure from the Jr. Bills, a kill from Bone put the game to rest, 25-18. 

The team has its final regular season match tonight against CBC. This match is also Senior Night for four seniors: middle hitter Micahel Krausz (Georgia Tech), outside hitter Ben McCabe (Xavier), outside hitter Brendan McLaughlin (Purdue), and outside hitter Peter Quinn (Mizzou). 

After this match, the Jr. Bills switch to playoff mode. Districts start next week, and the State bracket begins the following week. All of SLUH’s district games and the quarterfinal matches will take place in the Danis Field House.