A few months ago, Falls City Sacred Heart was 2-7 to start their season and another district title game was the last place anyone saw this team going—except the Irish of course. The belief was always there even if the results were lacking early. Fast forward to Tuesday night and the Irish were hosting a subdistrict final for a chance to make the district final that many thought unattainable earlier in the season. It was the Irish taking on the Griffins of Diller-Odell. The winner – one more game on Saturday with the chance to make the state tournament.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair early, but it was the Irish who were the first team to jump in front. After being tied at four, the Irish would go on a 6-0 run to take a 10-4 lead capped off by a Hallie Jones kill. That kill forced Diller-Odell head coach Reba Hestermann to call her first timeout of the set. The Griffins, however, responded and managed to cut that lead to two (10-8) before a service error gave a point back to the Irish. The Irish would follow that up with three straight aces by freshman Bailey Lemerond and a Daycee Witt kill to extend their lead to 15-8 midway through the first set.

From there – it was about not giving up the big run for the Irish. While the Griffins continued to battle, the early lead given up to the Irish was just a little much to overcome. An Irish kill and Griffin hitting error extended the Irish lead to 22-13 and the Irish would take set one 25-14.

It was the Irish who would jump out to an early 3-0 lead in the second set aided by some strong serving. That trend would continue when a Dorothy Crouse ace gave the Irish a 5-1 advantage early. The Griffins weren’t just going to roll over however – a preview of what was to come. They would battle back to within two at 6-4. A Griffin service error and Isabelle Nussbaum kill would bring the Irish right back out in front 8-4. Though the Griffins would once again cut into the lead, the Irish were just too resilient to let that lead slip away. They would go up 15-9 and force a Griffin timeout.

A Witt kill would give the Irish a 19-10 lead and force another Griffin timeout in set two. It was a strong Irish attack the first few sets, but credit must be given to the backrow defense as well. Solid passing set up easy setting opportunities for the Irish all night. As they had done all night to this point, the Irish would limit Griffin runs and a Griffin hitting error would follow a Witt kill to give Falls City Sacred Heart a 23-14 lead in the second set. They would ultimately win that set 25-14 on a Jones kill.

The Griffins would need the tough, but not rare, reverse sweep if they were to make Saturday’s district final. They came out playing like it as well keeping things close early in the third set. However, back-to-back kills by Jones would give the Irish a 6-4 lead. The Griffins wouldn’t go away quietly though and would tie things at 10. Back-to-back hitting errors on the Irish would tie things back up at 13 and a kill by Griffin Aiden McKinney would give the Griffins their first lead of the set 14-13. They’d follow that up with another kill forcing Sacred Heart coach Emma Ebel to call her first timeout of the set.

The Griffins would take their largest lead of the night in any of the first three sets at 17-14 on an ace serve by McKinney. It was pressure that the Irish hadn’t had for the majority of the night. Strong serving including an ace by Griffin Junior Sidney Engelman would give the Griffins a 21-16 lead and that lead would balloon to 24-19. The Irish would show some fight, but the Griffins would score the final point of the set and win 25-22 to force a fourth set.

The Griffins would take an early lead in set four but the Irish would fight and a big kill by Jones would tie things up at five early. That battle continued and another kill by Witt would give the Irish an 8-5 lead. That lead would extend to 11-6 on a Griffin hitting error and force Diller-Odell to take their first timeout of the set. The Griffins, as they had all night, would fight back and a Jones hitting error would tie things back up at 13. An ace for Griffin Junior Mallory Schwab would give Diller-Odell a 14-13 lead and force the Irish to take their first timeout.

The Griffins would go up 18-15 and force another Sacred Heart timeout as the hitting errors continued to pile up for the Irish. It was another must win set for the Griffins and another battle back opportunity for the Irish. Following a Griffin net violation, the Irish would tie things back up at 18. A quick 3-0 run for Diller-Odell though would once again force the Irish to overcome a three-point deficit late in the set. It was a lead they were unable to overcome, and the Griffins would force a set five winning the 4^th set 25-20.

The fifth set is like running a sprint after four straight marathons. It’s a race to 15, and in the race to 15 – it’s imperative to be the team that jumps out to the first big lead. On this night, that would be the Irish who’d take an early 4-1 lead before back-to-back Griffin kills would pull Diller-Odell back to within 4-3. A Ryann Westengaard ace serve would give Sacred Heart a 7-3 lead though and force the first Griffin timeout of the set. A 9-3 Sacred Heart lead would force another Griffin timeout. It’s nearly impossible to overcome a deficit that large in the 4^th set. But the Griffins would continue to battle and the Irish lead was cut to 12-8 forcing a Sacred Heart timeout. Another Sacred Heart timeout at 14-11would be needed with the Griffins capturing some momentum. The Irish lead was just too much to overcome though, and they would take the fifth and final set 15-12 on a Westengaard kill.

The 3-2 win propels Sacred Heart into Saturday’s District final game. Pairings for those games should be out later this week. For the Irish – it’s an opportunity senior Daycee Witt mentioned was a goal nearly two months back. One more game with a trip to the state tournament on the line. However, this isn’t the same Irish team that was 2-7 a few months back. This Irish team has grown, has battled through adversity, and is only getting better. Saturday can’t come soon enough for Sacred Heart – and that trip to the state tournament looms should they win.