Four days after claiming their fifth consecutive district title, and fresh off a 3-0 victory over Portageville, the St. Vincent Lady Indians (26-6-2) continued their state playoff run with a 3-0 victory over Valle Catholic (28-7-1) in a Class 2 state quarterfinal match in Perryville.
St. Vincent was scheduled to take on New Covenant Academy (27-4-3) in the semifinals at noon on Wednesday in St. Joseph, where they will be playing for the right to face the winner of the other semifinal between East Buchanan and Hermann in the Class 2 state championship, scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at St. Joseph Civic Arena. The third-place game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
Despite a district title and two back-to-back sweeps, St. Vincent coach Leeah Radil, in her first year with the Lady Indians — who finished third in Class 2 last season — says she’s not looking too far ahead.
“That’s all we’ve been doing,” Radil said, “one day at a time, one practice at a time. We end our practices about 15 minutes early, and we use the last 15 to 30 minutes to watch film. After tonight, and I know who we’re going to play, that is our next step. We will be having a film practice, and we’re going to work from there and figure out a way to win this thing.”
To do that, the Lady Indians first had to get past Valle. St. Vincent got off to a good start in the first set, winning 25-19 in what seemed to be a fairly straightforward effort, but Valle was just building momentum, as the second set was more heavily contested. St. Vincent pulled out a 25- 22 victory, but the Lady Warriors weren’t quite finished.
In the third set, a concerted effort from Valle kept the score close and forced the Lady Indians to play a bit of catch-up before they finally snatched a 26-24 victory.
“It was a little scary, but that’s all right,” Radil said. “My girls, we always have the same talk every single time. We’re here to play for each other, and every single time they step on the floor, that shows. They want this more than anything, and they want to go back [to state], but they want to go all the way this time.”
Senior Kate Rubel led the way with 23 kills and 5 blocks, while senior Alaina Cates had 10 kills and 4 blocks. Brie Rubel led the team with 44 assists.
Radil said there was plenty of praise to go around.
“Kate Rubel, my middle/ outside, she had a great game,” Radil said. “Alaina Cates had a good game, but I think the one that stood out the most to me is Sophie Verseman. She was a monster at the net today. She blocked so many balls, it was unbelievable. It was something that you don’t see in a normal day. Going into state and having that momentum behind us, I think that’s really going to help us.”
Kate Rubel, who ranks second in the St. Louis region in digs with 538, also reached a special milestone during the game, passing the 1,000 career digs mark.
“That’s something that not a lot of players get to achieve,” Radil said, “so it’s awesome to be able to celebrate it for her.”
As for Valle, the Lady Warriors were led by junior Lexie Rayoum, who finished with 20 kills. Senior Ava Bauman had 18 digs and 17 assists, and junior Paige Gielow had 4 blocks.
“That Valle team is phenomenal,” Radil said. “They have an unbelievable coach. She is one of the best coaches you can ever coach against, you can ever play for. That team is awesome. They have some of the best defense in the area, so being able to play them twice a season and beat them both times is mind-blowing to me, honestly. My girls, they don’t play, though. They like to come in, and they like to win, and it shows. They really do. They play for each other, and it’s awesome.”
