By james art (Tabor) — The Fremont-Mills volleyball team survived a rally by Exira-EHK in a five-set thriller to secure a Class 1A regional quarterfinal win.
1A no. 12 horses (26-10) handled the work in the first two sets, 25-16 and 25-11. But the Spartans (15-6) would not go away quietly, stealing sets three (25-21) and four (25-21) before Fremont-Mills sealed the deal in the 5th and final set–15-9– on the KMA X-Stream on Wednesday nights.
“We really took them those first two sets and then the third set we kind of relaxed, got a little more comfortable and then (Exira-EHK) started to heat up and get some hits on offense,” Fremont-Mills Head Coach Taylor Sudman told KMA Sports. “We just had to really focus our energy for the last few sets.”
“We didn’t know much about (Exira-EHK) coming in because we hadn’t seen them all season,” senior forward Carly Chambers said. “You never know until you play them. Overall, we just found the court, knew where to put the ball and put it in.”
The Knights were firing on all cylinders, jumping out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set and ending it 25-16 before holding on to a 17-7 margin in the second set and closing it out at 25-11.
However, Exira-EHK would not go down quietly as after the Knights built another small lead early, the Spartans battled back behind the hands of Taryn and Jaelynn Petersen to take both sets three 25-21. The Knights then built a 12-2 lead early in the fourth before Exira-EHK finished the set 23-9 to force a fifth and final set.
“We did a great job in the first two sets and did exactly what our game plan was and trusted each other,” senior Bella Gutte said. “We thought we were going to take it, but they showed us what’s going on and we had to stay focused and never doubt the team, no matter if we played well in the first two sets.”
In the race to 15 in the final set, it was neck and neck early and tied at 3-3. But after a couple of aces from Gute at the service line, the Knights were able to build a 9-6 cushion and eventually take the set 15-9.
“It all comes down to who wants it more and it’s all or nothing,” Sudman said. “We told them, ‘Hopefully this isn’t our last game, but it could be if we don’t come out, prove ourselves, swing aggressively and do what we can.’
Chambers led the Knights’ offensive attack, racking up 18 kills to go along with 11 digs and a block on defense and two aces from the serving line.
“I have to give a shout out to my setter Lana (Ali) because she’s a great setter and I’m very happy to be able to play in the back row to switch it up,” Chambers said. “(Exira-EHK) has a weird defense so it’s really hard to score short balls and you have to make some difficult shots. That’s what I was trying to do most of the night, but I was able to switch it up in the back row and that really helped me.”
Junior Hayleigh Mattox also had nine kills and three blocks on the night. Senior Olivia Mahaney added six kills and five blocks and junior Lindze Smith had seven kills. Meanwhile, Junior Lana Ali dished out 37 assists.
“We had to know exactly where that middle (linebacker) was playing because they liked to go right behind the block,” Mattox said. “I also made sure I knew where my teammates were.”
“We’re fortunate to have (Chambers and Mattox) both on the floor, and then we’re not on the floor or we don’t get hot — somebody else steps up,” Sudman said. “It’s a team effort, but those two were hot for us tonight.”
Meanwhile, senior libero Bella Gute held down the backcourt, racking up 27 digs while adding a game-high eight aces from the service line.
“I trust my teammates and if our blocks are there, the rest of our defense is there and I really use them to run around it,” Gute said. “I have enough experience, I can read where those holes are in the blocks and then I had my digs, getting in the hole and realizing that my job is to get the balls up to keep our offense going.”
Jaelyn Petersen and Taryn Petersen led Exira-EHK with 10 and seven kills, respectively. Meanwhile, Mayne Jorgensen and Ellen Rath donned the Spartans jersey for the final time on Wednesday.
With the nail-biting win, Fremont-Mills will face a familiar opponent in a Region 8 Class 1A semifinal on Monday at 1A no. 10 Sidney, which is coming off a 3-0 win over Griswold on Wednesday. The Cowgirls have had Knight’s number in recent years, including a 3-0 win over Fremont-Mills earlier this month.
“It’s going to take a lot of heart, trust in our teammates and a lot of work in practice,” Chambers said. “We’re really going to hit what we need to do offensively and defensively and hopefully come away with a win over them.”
“I really hope they take away that we can’t mess around and take every set for granted and stay aggressive the whole time,” Sudman said. “We have to play our game for all the sets, not just a few of them.”
You can check out the full interviews with Chambers, Mattox, Gute and Coach Sudmann below: