Junior High Volleyball
West Lincoln-Broadwell places 3rd in State

 

[March 14, 2023] 

The West Lincoln-Broadwell Lady Wolverines brought home the 3rd place trophy on Saturday in the IESA 7th Grade Class 1A State Tournament at Clinton Junior High School.

The team played fantastic on Friday night in the first round of the tournament. WLB (16-6) defeated Sigel St. Michael’s (22-1) in three exciting sets, 25-23, 18-25 and 26-24. The win put the Lady Wolverines in the final four for Saturday and guaranteed the team to bring home that coveted hardware.

On Saturday morning the Lady Wolverines faced another tough team in Williamsfield (21-3). WLB lost the first set 25-19 and then came back strong to win set two 25-6. Williamsfield would win set three by a final score of 25-22.

In the third place game on Saturday afternoon, WLB dominated Greenfield (19-9) in two sets, 25-17 and 25-9.

WLB Coach Kaylee Beekman, in just her second season with the Lady Wolverines, was very proud of her team’s finish in the state tournament and she was incredibly happy with the team’s effort on Friday night against a very talented team from Sigel St. Michael’s.

“Third in State is a huge accomplishment,” said Beekman. “The game that stands out most to me from the weekend is the Sigel St. Michael’s game. The first round is win or go home, so the pressure is on. It’s hard to imagine making it all the way to State, losing the first game, and having to go home empty handed. I think the girls felt that pressure on both sides and it came out to be such a nail-biter in the end. We lost the first set 23-25, won the second 25-18, and then turned around to win the third 26-24.

"We were down in the third set 19-23. We were able to tie it up 23-23 after a kill from Elizabeth Chen, kill from Sage Gilbert and great serving from Ella Schneider. We tied it up again 24-24. Sage stepped up again with another kill and Olivia Woodhall ended it with an ace to win the third set 26-24.

"We earned six points while only allowing them to earn one. It was a high-intensity situation and they stepped up and earned it. They know how to turn it on when it’s all on the line. This game is the highlight of the entire tournament and season for me, not only because we won it, but because it was an entire team effort. Every single girl on the team wanted it.

"The bench was just as in the game as those on the court. We were all jumping up and down, screaming, and pushing every single point as if it was our last. Watching the girls play for each other, for the love of the game, and as a team was more rewarding than any medal or trophy could ever be.”

WLB gave Sigel St. Michael’s just their second loss of the season, while the Lady Wolverines advanced to the final four on Saturday.

“Saturday we came back and had another three set thriller against Williamsfield,” said Beekman.

“Eventually, one of the games we took to three sets was going to fall the other way. Unfortunately for us this was the one.”

“It’s hard to reset after a loss,” continued Beekman. “We wanted to make it to the Championship so bad, but you have to reset mentally and get ready to go for the 3rd and 4th place game. We did just that. We went out and defeated Greenfield in two sets, 25-17 and 25-8. Only two teams in the whole state get to end their season on a win and we were one of them placing 3rd in State.”

The Lady Wolverines finished the season with an 18-7 record.

Congratulations on your 3rd place finish at State!

Members of the Lady Wolverines 3rd Place team:

Taylor Short
Elizabeth Chen
Ella Roemer
Kallie Courtwright
Olivia Woodhall
Mazie Green
Annily Eimer
Maggie Eskra
Grace Bivin
Jory Peacock
Maci Eskra
Ella Schneider
Bianca Rohlfs
Sage Gilbert
Paisley Holmes

Stats versus Sigel St Michael’s

Sage Gilbert 6 aces, 3 kills, 3 digs

Paisley Holmes 4 aces, 1 kill, 6 digs

Taylor Short 5 digs

Kallie Courtwright 3 aces, 3 digs

Stats versus Williamsfield

Ella Schneider 5 aces, 2 digs

Grace Biven 6 aces, 5 kills

Olivia Woodhall 7 aces

Paisley Holmes 6 kills, 1 ace

Sage Gilbert 5 kills, 1 ace

Stats versus Greenfield

Grace Biven 4 aces, 2 kills

Olivia Woodhall 3 aces, 2 digs

Sage Gilbert 3 aces, 3 kills

Paisley Holmes 7 kills, 2 digs

Kallie Courtwright 8 assists

[Teena Lowery]