A season-ending rematch

MALVERN – It was familiar faces across the court from Class 1A No. 15 Southwest Valley Thursday night as the Timberwolves took on No. 10 East Mills in the quarterfinal game of Class 1A Region 3.

The first time around the Timberwolves got the best of the Wolverines, coming back from down a set to beat a then-ranked No. 8 East Mills 2-1 in late August to open the season and helped give Southwest Valley its first ranking in the IGHSAU top-10 at No. 10.

This time around, the Wolverines were a different club than the last time, dominating the net and showing exactly why they are back-to-back state tournament qualifiers in a 3-0 set win.

“I felt like they were a little more ready to play this time,” said SWV head coach Limdsay Wetzel. “... I don’t think either team played real well that first game of the season and I think both us and them have improved.”

The two state-ranked teams battled throughout each set with East Mills taking the wind out of the visiting Timberwolves’ sails early with six straight points to open the game.

A kill from Norah Lund broke the stretch, but East Mills pushed it to 8-1.

Both sides traded 3-point runs to make it 11-4, with a Jentry Schafer kill breaking serve before the Wolverines ran off three more to make it 14-5.

Southwest Valley was finally able to find its footing, down 18-10. Kayley Myers’ serve lasted for five straight points, capitalizing on a missed tip and a net violation from East Mills along with a Schafer block and a long attack attempt.

Myers eventually went long to flip serve and make it 19-15, but four straight off Lund’s serve made it 20-19.

A net violation made it 21-21, the closest Southwest Valley had to a lead at that point, but a bad serve gave East Mills an opening and it capitalized with four straight points to close out the set.

Southwest Valley gained its first lead of the night early in Set 2, going up 3-2. The lead was quickly erased by East Mills, who pulled out to an 8-4 lead.

East Mills’ ability to score was noticeable with its presence at the net, capitalizing on flips along the net into open floor space. Once Wetzel saw it was going to be a recurring problem, she had to make the adjustment on the floor.

“We adjusted our defense a little bit and tried to get kids in the right spot,” said Wetzel. “But, that’s hard to defend because you also have to defend when they attack the ball. It was just about staying low, getting to base, being stacked when they go to hit and moving back forward. I think our momentum was taking us back and by the time we started going forward it was too late.”

Defensive adjustments saw the Timberwolves reel East Mills back in, continuing volleys off the hard hits of Alex Knop and Kaylor Horgdal. Despite the heavy arms on the other side, Southwest Valley was never quite out of the game, holding East Mills to about a differential of four.

Gaining serve at 17-12, the Wolverines turned it on for a 8-2 run that had East Mills at 24-14 and in a groove entering the third set.

However, Isabelle Inman’s serve turned the tide on the game and had East Mills fans holding their breath as the Wolverines were unable to hold back a Southwest Valley team that ran off eight consecutive points. At one point, a flustered East Mills team allowed three straight aces to Inman.

Inman’s serve brought it to 24-21, but SWV couldn’t hang on in the 25-21 set loss.

Southwest Valley, a team that often did not play from behind this season, was subject to the rally frequently Thursday night. Being able to come close, but not be able to have a run while leading was something Wetzel noticed.

“It felt like we’d let them build a lead, we’d come back within a point or two, and then we’d let them go on a run again,” said Wetzel. “The runs hurt us, ... because then we were battling to get back into it and once we were in it, they’d go on a run again. That’s tough.”

Down 2-0, SWV again was unable to get things working early in the third set as the Wolverines jumped out to a 4-0 lead almost instantly.

Starting slow for SWV was something it wasn’t unfamiliar with, but Thursday night it was clear it was going to be a problem.

“I don’t know. I think we start slow most of the time, probably not that slow,” said Wetzel. “We probably had a little bit of jitters. They were ranked ahead of us, so they’re supposed to win. I don’t know if nerves were a bit of the problem, but yeah the slow start obviously hurt us. ... We just had to keep fighting.”

The hole the Timberwolves were put in grew deeper, falling behind 7-1. But, a rally off the serving of Lund, including three aces of her own, brought SWV back to a one-point game at 7-6.

The game of runs as East Mills retaliated with six straight to make it 13-6. The deficit again was pulled closer on the serving of Jentry Schafer and a kill from Myers, but East Mills went to put the game on ice and scored eight straight to make it a 10-point game at 24-14.

A long serve from Myers fell for an East Mills point, ending the season for the Timberwolves.

East Mills’ attack was relentless, tallying 102 attack attempts. Freshman Emily Williams led the team with 13 kills while Horgdal and Knop had nine and eight, respectively. Their hard hits were a problem for Southwest Valley’s back row much of the night.

“We prepped for that with our defense and moving them more shallow and not being so deep (and) moving that block over a little bit, but those are tough to defend. They’re good hitters and they come in fast and hard. We were getting there some of the time, but the pass was shanked or we were taking it off the chest. .. I think we just needed our block to slow them down and we didn’t get that done.”

The Timberwolves were led by Schafer with seven kills. Myers had five kills while Lund and Delaney Dalton had three each.

Inman had 19 assists and was 11 of 12 from serve with three aces. Schafer (8 of 9) had three aces and Lund (15 of 16) had four aces also.

SWV posted 37 digs, led by Lund’s eight. Myers and Schafer each had solo blocks.

An irreplaceable group

It was hard for Southwest Valley’s Wetzel to not get choked up when talking about her seniors Thursday night.

The group of Schafer, Myers, Dalton, Olivia Jacobs and Allison Marshall were important parts to the success of the Timberwolves this season. The lone four-year player, Schafer, saw the Timberwolves go 72-38 in her career.

The 2019 team, finishing with a record of 25-6, is the winningest in the Quick Stats era (dating back to 2007).

“They’re kind of irreplaceable,” said Wetzel. “We have kids that can replace them in positions, but as people they’re irreplaceable.”

Schafer finishes her career with 870 kills and 212 digs. She also had 197 blocks (79 solo) and served 42 aces.

Myers finishes her three-year career with 399 kills, 290 digs and 107 aces. She also had 103 blocks, 36 of which were solo blocks.

Dalton wraps up her three-year career with 223 kills and 95 assists. She served 102 aces and dug out 420 balls. She also had 77 blocks, 15 of which were solos.

Jacobs, the team’s primary libero, finished her career with 160 digs and 31 aces across three years of play.

Marshall saw time in 13 sets across two years of playing. She was 11-for-11 at serve with an ace and had three kills and four digs.

“They mean so much more to (Coach Lisa Sparks) and I than players. They’re like our daughters. We are with them more than we’re with our own families so that’s tough when you lose a group that you know wanted to win (and) as a coach you wanted that for them,” said Wetzel, holding back tears.

East Mills moves on to face No. 1 Sidney Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. at Fremont-Mills in the Class 1A Region 3 final.