High school volleyball: St. John Lutheran heads to regional semis after sweeping St. Edward's

St. John Lutheran advanced to the regional semifinals, sweeping St. Edward’s 25-19, 25-19, 25-8 on Tuesday night.

Both teams had great defensive performances until the Pirates seemed to run out of gas in the third set.

“We’re in the state tournament now, so we’re just looking to see if we can execute and get lucky to get out of here with a win," said St. John Lutheran head coach Brad Ewers.

The young yet battle-tested Saints (21-5) outlasted St. Edward’s (12-7) but faced challenges. To start, outside hitter and the team’s leader in kills, Rylee Palmateer, was out with an undisclosed injury.

Second, it took St. John Lutheran a while to get ahold of the game. The Saints started with a deficit in the first set. The Saints later allowed a 7-0 run in the second set to keep the game close. By the third set, they looked like the 20-win team with deep playoff aspirations we saw throughout the season.

“I was expecting us to struggle a little bit, but I think we’ve done really well when our players get injured or are just out. I think as a team, we did really well, and I expected us to do really well,” said St. John’s junior Isabel Freem. “We have a good future going into regionals.”

This game was a team win for St. John. Seven players recorded a kill, three recorded a service ace, and nine of the 10 players to touch the court on Tuesday recorded a dig.

St. John will protect home court against Brevard HEAT (19-1) out of Palm Bay on Friday. The regional semifinal match starts at 7 p.m.

Let’s get into the takeaways from the Saints’ regional quarterfinal win. It could show a road map to their state title hopes.

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Slow starts

St. John Lutheran struggled out of the gate in the first set. The Saints crawled back from a 7-point hole and let the momentum close out the set.

Hitting errors was a big part of the slowdown. The Saints are a team that usually starts off hot offensively. Between Sophia Ochoa, who recorded nine kills, and Palmateer, the duo averages 21 kills a game. When you take Palmateer’s 12 kills away, things look different.

“Ashlyn Hallick, our eighth grader, stepped in for Rylee tonight. She did a great job there,” Ewers said. “The team rallied around her really well. Helping her through the emotional things of going through that.”

As the game continued, Hallick improved and filled the big shoes Rylee’s absence left. She finished with eight kills and a block. That’s an excellent performance for someone who’s played the entire season as one of the youngest players on the team.

“On top of that, our middles really stepped up today, did a good job defensively, and created offense for us. It’s hard work to get the middles involved,” said coach Ewers. “Because our middles were working so hard that they created opportunities for themselves. That’s fantastic.”

Team defense

Both teams had talented hitters on the floor coming into this match. Each team had its offensive moments, but the separator was defense.

Four St. John players had 10 or more digs. Three St. Edward’s players recorded two or more blocks.

“Congratulations to St. Edward’s for getting this far, having a great season, and getting here. They played really good, especially early,” Ewers said. “Their defense was fantastic. They gave us a lot of fits early on.”

The rallies were impressive as the teams doled out diving savings. Payton Nazzari left with a game-high 19 digs.

“They challenged us to be really patient. We were able to do that and get the momentum, and that helped us a lot,” Ewers said.

Coach Ewers was impressed with how his team reacted to off-speed plays at the net. The St. John defense was able to convert those moments into second-chance opportunities and much-needed offense.

Finishing strong

By the third set, the Pirates couldn’t find an answer for the streaking Saints. St. John’s offense hit another gear, and St. Edward’s couldn’t keep up.

The Pirates’ defense came out flat for the first time all game, and the Saints took advantage with three different players scoring a kill. Hallick scored the last point of the game with a power shot to center court.

This win showed the grit St. John Lutheran plays with. Despite back-and-forth sets that pushed them early, they had the legs to close the game with a dominant 13-1 run.

“Can you consistently stay in the point and keep giving yourself opportunities? Once you’re in the state tournament, everyone is good,” said coach Ewers. “You just can’t let the ball hit the floor.”

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: St. John Lutheran earns a trip to regional semis, sweeps St. Edward's