Document text
Crusaders tested but still prevail photo by Steve Johnson By Greg Stiles St. Mary�s still rules the Southern Cascade League volleyball roost, but the Crusaders� domination was in question Tuesday night. Cascade Christian pushed the three-time defending SCL champions well into the third game before falling 15-17, 15-10, 15-11 at St. Mary�s. "We know they are always going to play up for us and we�re going to play up for them," said St. Mary�s senior outside hitter Kristen Zielony, who had 15 kills and three digs. "We have to have the mindset that we can beat them. We�ve beaten them in the past and we know we can. Still, we had a rocky start." The Challengers did their best to foil St. Mary�s quick offense by hitting at setter Lani Brophy and forcing someone else to set. It worked to a point, but Brophy still got her hands on the ball enough to unload 98 sets to go with 14 digs. Ultimately, however, the Crusaders were able work the ball to Zielony and sophomore middle Christina Vaninetti enough to take control in the deciding third game. "We wanted to hit at (Cascade setter) Whitney Brookins, but they did the same thing and did it better," said St. Mary�s coach James Joy, whose team improved to 4-0 in the SCL. When the match was on the line, the Challengers weren�t able to counter Jenny Gritsch, who made good on all 25 serves with an ace for 17 points. Gritsch was at the line as Zielony downed a kill to pull St. Mary�s even at 11-11. On the next rotation, Brophy aced a serve to put the Crusaders on top for good. One rotation later, Kristina Easton, a sophomore defensive specialist and the smallest player on the floor at 5-foot-2, stepped to the line. Easton struggled mightily in the first two games, but she aced her first serve of the third game then punched out the Challengers on three straight serves to end the match. "I just forgot about the previous serves and was thinking about the one I was about to make," Easton said. "It was a close game. I wanted to place the balls and score some points for the team. I don�t like being in those situations, but when I�m there I get excited about it." Cascade put the Crusaders in an unusual place by winning the opening game. Kelly Clarke, the Challengers� only senior, served for four points for a 9-3 lead. St. Mary�s came back with Zielony serving to tie it up and then went up 11-9 with Gritsch serving. But Brookins put Cascade back in front, serving four points for a 14-11 advantage. The Crusaders drew even at 14-14 and 15-15 before Cascade sophomore Kayleen Conley served out the game. Cascade took a 4-3 lead in the second game before St. Mary�s went on a 6�1 run to make it 9-5 on Brophy�s ace. Cascade regained the lead with Amy Roseberg serving, 10-9, but the Crusaders scored the final six points � Gritsch serving the final four. "We missed some opportunities, no doubt about it," Cascade coach Susan Gmur said. The Challengers missed 16 serves in dropping to 2-2 in SCL play. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.