ShawneeDispatch.com

St. James Academy hadn’t lost a volleyball match to an in-state opponent all season, but on Thursday night — St. James’ inaugural senior night — St. Thomas Aquinas valiantly tried to become the first team from Kansas to silence the Thunder.

The Saints, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 5A, had Class 4A No. 1 St. James on the ropes constantly throughout the match. The Saints even became the first in-state team to win a game from St. James, but in the end the Thunder prevailed and sent their seniors home happy with a 24-26, 25-17, 25-23 victory in front of a jubilant standing-room-only crowd.

Earlier in the evening St. James beat Class 5A No. 3 Lansing, 25-18, 25-19, and finished the home triangular with a sweep.

“We definitely wanted to pick it up because it was senior night,” senior Bridget Blowey said. One of the things that was most important was that we did not lose in our house on our senior night because this was so important to us because we’ve been together for four years.”

Blowey and fellow seniors Rachel Gray, Kelly Kolich, Brook Jansen, Nia Williams and Tess Smrt — St. James’ first senior class — were the building blocks for the Thunder when the school opened four years ago, coach Nancy Dorsey said, noting that at the time she had been informed that she might not have enough players try out to have a team.

The seniors haven’t lost a home match in two years, and have lost twice total during that time frame. They’ve also helped land their program among the ranks of the nation’s elite. Currently St. James is ranked No. 1 in the Kansas City metro area, No. 9 nationally by Prep Volleyball and No. 7 nationally by ESPN.

On Thursday, however, rankings didn’t matter because St. James had a target on its back. Led by a lethal side-spin serve by Julia Bates, Lansing jumped to a 7-2 lead in game one against St. James. Midway through the game the Lions led 15-14 before the Thunder closed with a flurry. They controlled game two for the most part and won comfortably before turning their focus to Aquinas.

The Saints lost to St. James in the finals of the Topeka Hayden tournament in two games last month, and they clearly were focused from the beginning of the rematch. St. James took a quick 6-3 lead in game one, but Aquinas soon seized control thanks in large part to its defense and the heavy hand of outside hitter Marissa Olberding. The Saints led 18-15 before St. James called a timeout. Sophomore Morgan Voorhes pounded two kills during a 4-0 run that gave the Thunder the lead, but an Aquinas timeout turned the tables and soon it led 22-20. After a kill by Jansen and two Aquinas errors, the Thunder took a one-point lead, but the Saints closed strong and used a block to record the final point and take game one.

“Aquinas played really well,” Dorsey said. “That first game they were in system the entire match. They were determined and they came to play. It’s a rivalry. They wanted to beat us, there’s no question about it, and they were going to do whatever they could to make that happen.

“Fortunately we eliminated some of those errors we had in the first game of that match because I think we had five or six serving errors. To give a team like Aquinas that’s talented five or six points, there’s no way you’re coming out on top of that.”

Despite St. James’ best efforts, they couldn’t shake Aquinas in game two. For a stretch early on, the Thunder couldn’t put the ball past the Saints’ stingy defense. Fortunately for the Thunder, their defense was equally staunch and kept them from falling behind.

Nothing came easy. In one series, Blowey sprawled on the floor twice for digs and Williams ended up in the hallway after tracking down a deflection before Gray tipped the ball past an Aquinas blocker for a point.

“We take a lot of pride in putting all our effort into every single point,” Blowe said. “That’s a big deal for our team that everyone gives their all on every point.”

Both teams traded points until the match was tied at 13-13. A combo block by junior Lauren Brown and sophomore Hanna Forst sparked a 6-1 run that allowed the Thunder to finally take control. Voorhes had two kills down the stretch and Jansen added two blocks and a kill to close out the win and force game three.

A blowout appeared to be in store early in the final game as St. James roared to a 6-2 lead. Aquinas countered with its own 7-2 rally, however, and neither team gave an inch the rest of the way. Long volleys ensued. Blowey, Williams and Kolich piled up the digs; Jansen and Forst blocked shots; Gray and Brown took turns setting each other and reversing the court to find Kolich for swings from the outside.

As good as St. James was, Aquinas matched it every step of the way.

St. James built a 20-17 lead, but Aquinas stormed back with a 3-0 run and tied the game. Eventually the Saints edged ahead 23-21 on a kill by Liz Gohde.

With it’s senior night celebration hanging in the balance, the Thunder rallied one last time. At the end of a long volley, Kolich dug the ball to Gray who set it to Voorhes for a kill. On the next play Kolich dug another ball to Gray who set Brown for a game-tying kill. Two more long volleys ensued, and both culminated with Aquinas hitting errors that gave the match to the Thunder and sent the St. James student section into hysteria.

“That made our night,” Jansen said. “It was a great experience for our whole team. I just love playing these teams (like Aquinas).”

Blowey led the St. James defensive effort with 22 digs and Williams had 13. Forst had six solo blocks, Jansen had three solo blocks and five block assists, and Brown and Gray had two solo blocks apiece. Offensively, Brown paced the offense with 31 assists and Gray had 27. Jansen had a team-high 12 kills and Brown had 11.

For Dorsey, whose team improved to 29-1, the hardest part of the night was fighting back tears as she honored her seniors after the matches were over. While she was thrilled that they ended their home careers on a high note, she said she thought beating such difficult opponents made the night even more meaningful.

“I wouldn’t have really had it any other way,” she said. “My husband (assistant coach Bryan Dorsey) and I were talking about it when we came in here and I said, ‘you know, I’m glad we’re playing tough competition because it’s not that much fun to beat up on people that you know and they know you’re a lot better than.’ It was just a great, great environment and just really another opportunity for them to prepare for the postseason — substate and hopefully state. This was pressure. Almost their whole school was here, all their family and friends, and they pulled it out. I’m so proud of them.”