DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
The Bellmont Braves, the newest addition to 4A volleyball in Indiana after three years in the 3A State Finals, faced a steep and slippery slope Tuesday night in the season opener at the Teepee. By the time the Braves stopped a late run in the fourth set by Bishop Dwenger and Liz Bobay stepped up to the service line, the home team faced five match points.
The Saints took the match 29-27, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21 in what was ultimately a highly-entertaining display of high school volleyball. Bellmont fans got their first look at the new rotation of players who will make up this varsity team, with head coach Craig Krull using nine girls in all four sets against the tough opponent.
The first set of the night was key, with the Braves wasting an opportunity to start out with a lead, dropping a set point and being unable to claw their way back in the match in the third set.
The first set went from 8-8 to 14-9 in favor of Bellmont to force a timeout for BD. An ace by Jillian Tippmann tied things up at 18-18 later in the set.
A block at the net by Dwenger briefly gave the Saints the lead but a big kill by Brea Shoaf quickly knotted it at 19.
The Braves made two errors to lose their grip on the opening set, but the Saints did the home team a big favor by committing a service error, handing the serve over to Shoaf.
The biggest dig of the night to that point was made by MK Scheumann and Alyssa Gumbel’s block gave the Braves the lead again.
Two points away from the set, Shoaf had the serve out of the timeout and it was the sophomore’s dig, coupled with yet another block by Gumbel that put the Braves at set point.
Dwenger, however, won the next three points and squared the set at 24 apiece. The two teams traded points and a dink by MK Scheumann, moments after running into the standard, gave the Braves another life at 27-27.
Dwenger ultimately prevailed, however, with a thrilling 29-27 victory in the first set of the season for both teams, setting the tone for the rest of the night, and perhaps the season, when it came to what the Braves should expect from their opponents.
The Braves came out firing in the second, building a ten-point lead in the early going and getting the 100 or so classmates in the student section involved.
A long rally by the Saints with Bellmont at set point ended in disappointing fashion with a BD service error, leveling the match at one apiece.
The momentum did not stay with the home team and Dwenger fought right back to take a lead late in the third set, but a timely pause called by coach Krull and a couple of big swings by freshman Kaylee Kolter brought the ball back to the home side. That progress was quickly halted and reversed and the Saints won the third set with a no-look kill down the net, 25-21.
A monster kill gave the Braves an 18-17 lead, their first in a long time in the fourth set, but the night ultimately belonged to the Saints.
Scheumann, as expected, took the bulk of the kill attempts, converting on 13 occasions. Alyssa Gumbel was also highly involved in the end product, finishing with six kills.
The Braves split setting duties throughout the match, with Lilly Selking finishing with 14 assists and Liz Bobay leading the team with 18.
Katie Mills was excellent in the back with 19 digs and a great run of serves. She finished with four aces.
Scheumann led the team with 21 digs.
The Braves are back at home Thursday against Bishop Luers before heading to Yorktown for their first Saturday tournament.
Both games Saturday will be broadcast live on 92.7 FM, with the team taking on Yorktown and Avon.Â
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