Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Waterloo unafraid to meet volleyball power Mater Dei

Triad faces Matoon in other semifinal

If Breezy Murphy has any "shock the world" speeches stored away, it's high time to dust them off.

The Waterloo Bulldogs and their first-year coach realize few outside of their own close circle of family, friends and fans are giving them much of a chance today against Mater Dei in the semifinals of the Class 3A Civic Memorial Sectional at 6 p.m.

The Bulldogs (24-4-2) are in the midst of one of the best seasons in school history, but upsetting the Knights (31-6) will be a monumental task.

"We have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain at this point," Murphy said. "It's kind of a mental advantage for us, but we still know that it's going to be intense. It's still going to be a huge battle for us. That's the mentality we're coming in with is that we're preparing for battle. We're going to give them everything we have.

"Anything can happen in the postseason. Everything's fair game now."

In the second semifinal match at 7 p.m., Triad (24-8) will tackle the Mattoon Green Wave (23-10). The semifinal winners will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in the title match.

Waterloo is in the sectional for the second straight year, but the Bulldogs' postseason pedigree pales in comparison to Mater Dei. The Knights -- who knocked off Althoff 26-24, 25-22 to win the Centralia Regional on Saturday -- are making their 23rd sectional appearance and seventh this decade.

"It's a big advantage for them, and they're also coming off that big win against Althoff," Murphy said. "They have a lot of momentum and have the experience with this type of thing. Hopefully, we can stay focused. They have some dominant players at the net, so we need to try and slow them down."

Setters Nicole Strieker (462 assists) and Sam Bedard (302 assists) can't go wrong with any of Mater Dei's hitting options, starting with sophomore Brooke Schulte (266 kills), juniors Kaley Boeckmann (132 kills) and Ali Mueller (126 kills), senior Julie Huelsmann (118 kills), sophomore Abbey Winter (84 kills, 126 blocks) and senior Tabatha Albers (70 kills, 105 blocks).

Veteran Mater Dei coach Fred Rakers -- who became the second coach in state history to post 1,000 wins Thursday -- has tweaked his lineup in recent weeks, giving sophomores Kayla Eversgerd and Alyssa Hitpas more prominent roles.

"I think it's helped," Rakers said. "The kids got to understand that we're looking for the most consistent players at this particular time that can get it done and be patient. I'm lucky I can do that with the talent we have here. I understand that, but I'm sure the kids don't necessarily understand that, but that's the way life is."

It's hard to argue with the results, as Murphy is well-aware. She has made a few lineup changes of her own, particularly on defense, and the Bulldogs have responded.

Champions of the Mississippi Valley Conference, the Bulldogs are led by University of Miami-Ohio recruit Maddie Dodd, a 5-foot-11 middle hitter who has a team-high 255 kills and 137 blocks. Alex Rohlfing, a 5-10 junior outside hitter, has 202 kills and 5-9 junior outside Tia Kelley has 137 kills.

Waterloo lost to defending Class 2A state champion Freeburg 25-23, 23-25, 25-21 on Oct. 19, and Murphy said that inspired effort gives the Bulldogs hope against Mater Dei.

"I'm glad we got to play Freeburg at the end of the season, because that's the same kind of mentality we're going to take against Mater Dei," she said. "We played pretty close and pretty well against them."

Triad, which finished second to Waterloo in the MVC, is making its fourth appearance in the sectional. The Knights dusted off Civic Memorial 25-9, 25-17 to win the Jerseyville Regional and have won nine straight.

Head coach Amy Sheehan's club has a solid net attack led by juniors Paige Burroughs (182 kills) and Elizabeth Hampl (156 kills) and senior middles Julieann Ramsey (164 kills) and Hilary Richter (130 kills).