Advantage at the net…St. Henry’s Ellie Fullenkamp blocked throughout, and dumped this point right at the Cardinals’ feet. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Playing their hearts out, and at a level that could spur them for the rest of the season, St. Henry did something Thursday night that’s rarely done in area volleyball. They swept the defending champion New Bremen Cardinals in straight sets.
New Bremen, OH – It was just something that you don’t see done.
And that is…someone sweeping the four-time, and defending Div. VII champion New Bremen Cardinals in straight sets in volleyball.
But the St. Henry Redsksins did it Thursday night, and they did it in front of raucous home New Bremen crowd…25-22, 25-20, and 25-21…leaving little doubt as to which team was the better.
Surprised? Don’t be for the sake of St. Henry…because, this is a program in Division VI that’s as athletic as anyone they’ll play all season, well-coached, and maybe more important, the Redskins (5-1) are hungry.
“They came to play tonight,” said Cardinals coach Diana Kramer, succinctly. “Give credit to them. I take nothing away from them. They served better than us, they passed better than us, they set better, they hit better, and when you do those things you’re going to win the match.”
Hardly a ball touched the floor without St. Henry’s Rya Buschur (in white) getting a hand on it.
Check…check…and check. And to put it in even more succinct terms…St. Henry simply outplayed New Bremen (4-1), another thing that you seldom see from a Diana Kramer-coached team.
But the facts are the facts.
New Bremen shot themselves in the foot repeatedly with service errors.
At times they played with their nerves on display.
St. Henry’s blocking was superior – magnificent – and it visibly frustrated the New Bremen hitters at the net.
And senior libero, St. Henry’s Rya Buschur, literally wrote a manuscript on how to play the position…her hands constantly on the ball, keeping rallies alive and would-be points off the floor. You can’t play it better.
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“Tonight meant everything. This was all we wanted to do,” said Buschur outsider the Redskins’ celebratory locker room. “We left it all on the floor and three sets was all it took. I was a little nervous at first, but I didn’t let it hurt me at all. This was my best night.”
Their blocking was a difference…Ellie Fullenkamp rejects the shot attempt of New Bremen’s Ava Trentman.
An irony! Diana Kramer frequently talks about the game being one of runs and momentum. And New Bremen made an early run in set one, streaking out to 5-0 lead before St. Henry finally scraped together a point. But the Redskins then went on a 6-3 run of their own, played through some of the nerves that Rya Buschur mentioned, and New Bremen never had another run greater than five points for the rest of the night. Their closest was a 5-1 run in the third set.
And it was clear from the opening set…that if St. Henry was going down you’d better pack your lunch. It was tied at 11, 12, 16, and 17 before the ‘Skins broke out with an 8-2 run of their own close the set, 25-19.
Likewise, the second set was played closely, St. Henry jumping out to a 12-8 lead before New Bremen could reel them in. But again, from 14-14 St. Henry went on an 11-6 run to win that one, 25-20.
New Bremen resuscitated enough between the second and third sets to grab an early lead in the third, but serving errors, and St. Henry’s ability to continually save points (digs) on defense visibly shook the Cardinals’ confidence. From a 6-3 start, they allowed St. Henry to get its momentum back to tie at 13-13, then the Redskins took a 17-14 lead, 21-18, and the eventual 25-21 win. Every time New Bremen would make a play, St. Henry seemed to counter with two of their own.
Teamwork…St. Henry’s Lauren Thieman sets the ball for a kill attempt by teammate Ellie Fullenkamp.
“I’m thrilled for the way they girls played tonight, and that’s an understatement,” said St. Henry coach Tricia Rosenbeck. “I’m so happy for the way they came out and played in a tough environment. New Bremen is a great team, they’re super-athletic, and they come at you and never stop. Our girls were mentally ready to play.”
On their size advantage, a fantastic blocking game, and defense……
“Our middles had a fantastic game, we were getting a lot of touches, and we played defense around our blocks.”
And then, the spectacular effort in all phases by Rya Buschur.
“Rya is having an unbelievable season so far, it’s her fourth year playing for us, and she’s our leader,” added Rosenbeck. “She’s just a go-getter. No ball’s going to hit the floor without her going for it. She brings our team together between every point…and yes, she had an unbelievable game tonight.”
At 5-1 there’s still a lot of season to play, but a win over New Bremen, at New Bremen, and in straight sets is not only a confidence builder, but a landmark win, as well.
“Absolutely,” said Rosenbeck. “This gives us a ton of confidence, we knew coming in that we could do it, and when we were down tonight we found ways…some resiliency to just keep fighting. And yes, this is a boost, but there’s a lot of volleyball left to play against a ton of really good teams,. So we’re going to keep fighting, keep getting better, and that’s our goal.”
Diana Kramer echoed those very words, albeit from a losing perspective.
“We’re going to learn from this and get better, and that’s what happens after a loss. Growth isn’t linear,” she said. “And tomorrow we’re going to wake up and keep playing volleyball. That’s what’s going to make us better, and that’s what we need right now.
Pausing, she added, “You haven’t seen the last of the New Bremen Cardinals.”
A sure sign…that growth isn’t linear.
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