Stewardson Trinity Captures Third At State

Stewardson Trinity Lutheran captured third place at the Class S State Tournament.

HERRIN -- Stewardson Trinity Lutheran captured third place at the SIJHSAA Class S State Volleyball Tournament Saturday.

Trinity opened first round play with a victory over Nashville St. Ann, 25-11, 25-15. In other first round matches, Valmeyer defeated Century, 25-9, 25-8; St. Bruno won over Crab Orchard, 25-15, 25-18; All Saints Academy defeated Evansville, 16-25, 25-16, 15-15; St. Rose downed St. Libory, 25-19, 25-10; Sandoval won over Mount Vernon St. Mary's, 25-16, 17-25, 15-13; Jasper/Geff Co-op defeated Elverado, 25-14, 25-10 and Wayne City downed Cobden, 20-25, 25-15, 15-10.

In the quarterfinals, Trinity downed All Saints Academy, 25-12, 25-13. In other quarterfinal matches, Valmeyer beat St. Bruno, 25-21, 24-26, 15-6; St. Rose won over Sandoval, 25-16, 25-20 and Jasper/Geff Co-op downed Wayne City, 25-12, 25-16.

Trinity then fell to Valmeyer. Trinity won the opener 26-24 but Valmeyer came back with a 25-23 victory and won the match 15-12. In the other semifinal match, St. Rose defeated Jasper/Geff Co-op, 25-13, 25-19.

Stewardson Trinity then claimed a 25-17, 25-17 win over Jasper/Geff Co-op in the third place match. The championship went to Valmeyer over St. Rose, 25-20, 25-22.

"We placed third," said Trinity Coach Tammy Manhart, "It was a fun and exciting day. We had lots of fans there supporting us. We knew very little about the teams we were facing so it was a little nerve-racking.

"All Saints from Breese was the defending state champion and Valmeyer was undefeated so we expected those matches to be tough. The girls started the first match with lots of excitement and played very aggressively which was nice to see. This was the first time for most of these players to compete in the state tournament.

"Trintiy won its first state championship in 2011, placed second in 2013 and won back-to-back state championships in 2014 and 2015.

"We cruised right through our first match and then faced All Saints in the next match. With our aggressive play and high level of emotion, we controlled the momentum of this match too. I knew our next match was going to be the test. It was a back and forth match the whole way. I am very proud of the way the girls battled. They really fought until the end. After just a 20 minute break, we had to turn around and play the third place match. We won in two sets as did Valmeyer in the championship match against St. Rose.

"I am very proud of the girls and all their accomplishments this season. I look forward to next year since they will all be returning because we have no eighth-graders on the team."

Trinity ended the season with a 29-2 record.

Class S State Tournament

Stewardson Trinity Lutheran -- Kinkelaar, 35 points, 15 aces, 12 kills, 36 assists, 11 digs, 1 block; Friese, 30 points, 4 aces, 1 kill, 41 assists, 7 digs; Vonderheide, 16 points, 10 aces, 33 kills, 1 assist, 36 digs; Wernsing, 29 points, 9 aces, 14 kills, 1 assist, 29 digs; Moomaw, 19 points, 9 aces, 27 kills, 6 digs, 2 blocks; Gratz, 1 kill, 2 assists, 2 digs; Quast, 8 points, 4 aces, 35 digs

Stewardson Trinity Lutheran players celebrate on court.