The Seton Catholic volleyball team saw their season come to an end Saturday, Nov. 2, at the hands of the second-ranked Faith Christian Eagles in the Frankfort semi-state opening round match.
The Eagles, from Lafayette, who were the LaPorte regional champions, were the aggressor from the first serve. Taryn Tremain’s kill tied the first set at 2-2 before the high-flying Eagles went on a 8-1 run that included four service aces leading to a Cardinal timeout. The timeout did little to slow the Eagles’ momentum, forcing a second Cardinal timeout with the Eagles holding a 19-8 advantage, their largest of the set. The Cardinals fought back to cut their deficit to 23-18 before eventually losing 25-18. Senior Molly Miller was the most mercenary of the Eagles, delivering several key kills.
The second set was a near carbon copy. The Eagles broke from a 1-1 tie to race to a 16-6 advantage, eventually expanding their lead to 20-9 before back-to-back kills from Bryn VanVleet cut the Eagle lead to 20-10. The teams played even for the balance of the set with the Eagles taking a 25-15 win to go up two sets to none.
The Eagles again showed their dominance in the third set. After a 1-1 tie, the Eagles sustained several runs en route to a 25-14 win to sweep the match by the score of 3-0.
The loss snapped a 12-match win streak for the Cardinals, and it was the last time in a Seton Catholic volleyball uniform for Cardinal seniors Bella Cornell, Allison Hamilton and Bryn VanVleet.
“I think Faith Christian is the best team we have faced this season,” Seton Catholic head coach Emily Tremain said. “Teams like that expose and exploit your weaknesses. But I have nothing but good things to say about my team. We played a lineup composed of three seniors and three freshmen most of the season. There has not been any jealousy. The seniors were great leaders and they all worked together. Our team chemistry has been excellent. Our seniors will be missed, but we return 10 roster players, who will work hard to get back to this level.”
Faith Christian (27-4) 25 25 25
Seton Catholic (26-9) 18 15 14
Faith Christian went on to defeat South Newton in the semi-state championship match Saturday evening by the score of 3-1. The Eagles advanced to the state championship match, where they will face Trinity Lutheran in a match to be played on Saturday, Nov. 9, at Worthen Arena on the campus of Ball State University.
A version of this article appeared in the November 6 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.