Stewardson Trinity Places Second At State

Members of the Stewardson Trinity volleyball team are, first row, left to right, Calla Roney and Megan Schlechte. Second row, left to right, Mariah Caudill, Marisa Daniels, Gabby Vonderheide, Jocelyn Schultz, Isabelle Gratz, Ella Kinkelaar and Martina Gratz. Third row, Halle Moomaw. Fourth row, left to right, Coach Ronda Schlechte, Anna Schlechte, Claire Moomaw, Rachel Kessler and Assistant Coach Jamie Brown.

Stewardson Trinity Cardinals competed at the Lutheran Sports Association 27th annual State Tournament in Springfield November 7-9. Twenty-four teams from all over the state competed for the state title.

Stewardson Trinity brought home the State runner-up trophy along with the Sportsmanship Award. Eighth-graders Megan Schlechte and Calla Roney were named to the All-State Team made up of the top 10 athletes for the second year in a row.

Trinity started pool play Friday beating Palatine Immanuel Bobcats, 25-13, 25-13 but then took a loss to Collinsville Good Shepherd Chargers in three, 23-25, 25-13, 17-25. Jocelyn Schultz led the Cardinals with seven aces and Megan Schlechte led the team with 39 kills, 18 digs, and one block between the two matches. Calla Roney added 16 service points and 23 kills and Martina Gratz followed with 11 digs. Claire Moomaw finished the day with 10 points, three aces, and six digs before becoming ill and did not return to the court.

Saturday morning, Trinity defeated Springfield Our Savior Eagles, 28-26, 25-13 to finish second place in the pool behind Collinsville. Rachel Kessler took the lead with 10 service points and six digs while Megan added 19 kills and three solo blocks. Due to a wildcard that was determined by a win-loss record, Stewardson Cardinals advanced to the Elite 8 bracket only to meet up again with Collinsville Good Shepherd.

The match was just as intense as the day before, but the outcome favored Trinity Cardinals 25-21, 21-25, 25-9.

"Megan and Calla dominated the net with 26 and 20 kills along with Jocelyn staying on track with six aces and 13 service points," said Coach Ronda Schlechte. "Moving on to the semi-finals later Saturday evening, we beat Geneva’s Faith Christian Academy Falcon’s, 25-17, 25-11 to enter the championship match where Anna Schlechte led the team with seven service points and nine digs.  A surprise rotation kept us awake and on our toes to take the win after a very long day in the gym.

“Because we don’t use many subs, we tend to lose power by the end of a long day so I needed to get their adrenaline pumping. This seemed to do the trick.”

"On Sunday, we met Christ Peoria Comets for the championship match. We came in refreshed but it wasn’t enough to take home the title. Christ Peoria won, 25-15, 25-15 to capture the State title. Calla led at the net with seven kills and added six digs while Megan finished with five kills and 10 digs.  

“Second place is nothing to be ashamed of and we are very proud to bring home the Sportsmanship Award. The girls put up a good fight this weekend despite some being under the weather and the newly return of Calla Roney from a high ankle sprain. She struggled at first with some movement and timing issues but that was to be expected. She progressed nicely the more she played. She and Megan did a very nice job not only at the net but on defense as well. Jocelyn really stepped up and dominated serving this weekend. We had nice stats from everyone so it was a good team effort."

Total Tournament Stats:

Megan Schlechte -- 8 aces, 29 points, 101 kills, 58 digs, 6 assists, and 4 blocks

Calla Roney -- 11 aces, 37 points, 67 kills, 43 digs, 7 assists

Jocelyn Schultz -- 15 aces, 47 points, 3 kills, 19 digs, 153 assists

Martina Gratz -- 1 ace, 12 points, 1 kill, 26 digs, 1 assist

Rachel Kessler -- 5 aces, 28 points, 8 digs, 1 assist

Claire Moomaw -- 3 aces, 10 points, 1 kill, 6 digs

Anna Schlechte -- 4 aces, 24 points, 1 kill, 23 digs, 1 assist