High School Girls Volleyball Postseason
Stags claim sectional title over Camp Point Central

 

[November 07, 2024] 

The Hartsburg-Emden Stags defeated Camp Point Central 25-17 and 25-19 on Thursday night to win the 2024 Class 1A Sectional championship.

The Stags have now reached the Elite Eight.

Alayna Briggs led the Stags with 18 kills.

Cambelle Hopkins had 10 kills for the Stags.

The birthday girl, Celia Cross, had 28 assists for Hartem.

Set one

Alayna Briggs put down a trio of kills early in set one to give the Stags a 6-3 lead over the Panthers. Then it was Cambelle Hopkins’ turn to take over. Hopkins recorded the next four kills for the Stags, guiding them to an 11-6 lead. After Hopkins served an ace, the Stags had doubled the lead on the Panthers, 12-6 the score. Another kill by Alayna Briggs forced the Panthers to call a timeout, as the score had escalated to 14-6.

Alayna Briggs would put down three more kills to bring the score to 17-11. After Hopkins squeezed in another kill, it was Briggs’ turn at the service line and she was able to use two aces to guide the Stags to a 20-11 lead.

The Panthers called timeout again after Hopkins put down another kill. Hopkins, a 5’6 sophomore who is no bigger than a minute, was too much for the Panthers to contain. Hopkins and Briggs were both swinging well in the first set, each putting down seven kills. The last kill in set one by Hopkins made the score 22-14. Despite the Panthers getting some pretty amazing kills from senior Lauren Miller, game point was on the line after Celia Cross served an ace. Ellie Klokkenga got the final kill for the win, courtesy of the set from Briggs. The Stags were in control of set one the entire time and the final score of 25-17 was reached without a worry.

Set two

The Stags were off to a bit of a slow start in set two, allowing the Panthers to take a 2-0 lead. After tying the set 2-2 on a kill by Alayna Briggs, the Stags even took a 5-2 lead. Klokkenga’s kill, Addi Briggs’ ace and the block by Cross and Alayna Briggs allowed the Stags to jump in front. The score sure flipped in a hurry though. The Panthers went on a 6-0 run, scoring three points on aces, and Coach Jennifer Hayes had seen enough of the miscommunication in the Stags lineup and this time she called a timeout with her team trailing 5-8.

Alayna Briggs stepped up with a kill immediately after the timeout to close the deficit to 6-8. The Stags were patient, getting kills from Hopkins and Klokkenga and consistent serving from Allie Grelck, and they managed to chip away at the Panthers lead.

In the meantime, there were some long volleys, mixed with some great saves by both teams, and eventually the score got back to an even 12-12. With Addi Briggs getting a huge kill from the right side, the Stags took over the lead and took flight from this moment on. The Panthers called a timeout with the score 14-12, having grown frustrated with the Stags 6-0 run. Alayna Briggs went on a tear next and her kill after kill put the Stags in control 20-16.

There was no looking in the rear view mirror now. Hayes was coaching on autopilot from the sidelines, having been in the driver’s seat many times before in this situation in her 30 year career.

She turned to the offensive power of Klokkenga, Hopkins and Addi Briggs down the home stretch. Klokkenga’s kill made the score 22-18, then it was back-to-back kills by Hopkins to set the score at 24-19 and finally it was Addi Briggs taking over for the last kill of the set to give the Stags that 25-19 victory.

There was never a need to panic, the Stags just needed to work through a few hiccups in set two, other than that it was another fantastic night of volleyball inside the Hartsburg gym.

It was really a great week of volleyball in Hartsburg as four of the top teams in the state were all in Logan County competing for a chance to move towards the Elite Eight.

Never bet against Jennifer Hayes on her home court.

“We had all the ranked teams in the state right here,” said Coach Hayes immediately after the win. “It’s just the way it feeds. We are a great zone of volleyball. That’s what it was. Tuesday night it was the no. 1 and no. 2 ranked teams in the state. We were ranked no. 1 in the state and Augusta Southeastern was ranked no. 2. Decatur Unity was no. 5 and Camp Point Central was right there at no. 7. That’s just the way it was. We knew we had to be locked in. It’s always nice to be home, to have this gym, this is really exciting. We played great. We had a great crowd. I felt the energy of the community behind us and we just played to win.”

The Stags will look to win again next week and advance into the final four.

Hartsburg-Emden (30-8) will play Illini Bluffs on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Lewistown Supersectional.

Go Stags!

Stags stats

Points

Addi Briggs 11
Cambelle Hopkins 10
Alayna Briggs 7
Celia Cross 3
Allie Grelck 2
Sadie Williams 1

Kills

Alayna Briggs 18
Cambelle Hopkins 10
Ellie Klokkenga 5
Addi Briggs 3
Emma Eeten 1
Celia Cross 1

Blocks

Addi Briggs 1
Alayna Briggs 1
Celia Cross 1

Assists

Celia Cross 28

Digs

Alayna Briggs 14
Cambelle Hopkins 9
Addi Briggs 7
Sadie Williams 5
Celia Cross 4
Allie Grelck 4
Ellie Klokkenga 2

[Teena Lowery]