It’s one playoff match the Suring High School volleyball team won’t soon forget.
Especially since it was on a big stage in the WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinals.
Down 2-1 after blowing big leads and game points in both Games 2 and 3 Thursday, Suring never quit. Florence had match point three times in the fourth game, but Suring came back to steal the win and send it to a fifth and deciding game.
Suring broke a 7-7 tie in Game 5 by scoring eight of the final 12 points to earn an improbable home victory, 25-22, 24-26, 24-26, 30-28, 15-11.
“It was crazy. I’ve never been in anything like it,” Suring middle hitter Katie Stegeman said. “I was really nervous, but I had to keep hitting hard.”
Both teams had a tough time closing out games the entire match. Sitting at game point seemed to turn into a curse for the team in the lead.
After winning Game 1 and jumping out to an 18-10 lead in the second game, Suring seemed to be in complete control. The Eagles sat at game point up 24-19, but Florence tallied the final seven points.
A shocked group of Suring players started Game 3 strong, up 8-4 and 18-14, but Florence came back to tie it at 22. Once again, the Eagles were at game point, 24-23, but the Bobcats scored the last three points. An ace capped another 26-24 victory for Florence.
“Game 2 was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe we lost that,’” Stegeman said, who had a monster match with 12 kills and 12 block kills. “Game 3, when we lost it again, we were all in the huddle and you could tell we were down. But we came back and believed in ourselves.”
Down but not out, Suring needed a surge. Junior varsity coach Heidi Gerndt provide the players with a pep talk right after the Game 3 loss.
“She got in (the huddle) and got them fired up,” Suring coach Tonia Kruschke said. “When I don’t know what to say, she does and vice versa. We work very well together – credit to her. And talking to the girls about playing with their hearts and the belief in each other and that as a team this was our goal.”
Suring trailed 10-3 out of the gate in Game 4 and things looked bleak for the home team. Florence made it 23-16 and then 24-20 for match point. However, the Eagles scored four straight led by a huge kill from Hailey Thompson. The Bobcats had match point on two more occasions, but a block kill from Thompson and a service error by Florence kept Suring in it. A Stegeman kill gave Suring its third game point opportunity, and Florence made a final critical mistake to fall 30-28.
After winning Game 4, Stegeman was confident her team would pull out the victory.
“We knew we had to keep the momentum,” Stegeman said. “We were getting really fired up in the huddle.”
Florence got out to a 5-1 lead, but Suring tied it at 7. Pulling ahead on a point by Nikki Niemann, the Eagles never trailed again. A kill attempt by Florence went long and Suring celebrated its Game 5 victory.
Thompson finished with 10 kills and 14 block kills for Suring. Azee Vanbellinger had a team-leading 33 digs and three service aces. Courtney Heimerl had 18 assists.
Kruschke believes the victory marked the first time Suring has advanced to a sectional final in the program’s history.
“That was our goal coming in as a team,” Kruschke said. “We made it this far last year. Our goal was to get to the next game.”
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