The Daily Standard
Story Archive
New Bremen's Mary Rindler (14) spikes the ball during Monday's Division VI district semifinal against Riverdale.
WAPAKONETA - In the opener, New Bremen's Sarah Dwenger was a walking ace against Riverdale.
Later, Minster came up aces against Van Buren.
On Monday, the Midwest Athletic Conference programs swept a Division VI district semifinal doubleheader at Wapakoneta High School to set up a showdown in Wednesday's final at 6 p.m.
Dwenger had nine aces for top-seeded Bremen in a 25-4, 25-5, 25-7 sweep of fifth-seeded Riverdale. After the Cardinals rolled, the Wildcats responded to everything that was thrown at them - fighting through three tough sets for a 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 sweep of second-seeded Van Buren, which boasted a 17-6 record entering the game.
New Bremen's Keira Steininger reaches out to try and save the ball from hitting the floor at Wapakoneta High School.
Coaches always talk about clicking at the right time of the year.
Bremen looked to be clicking Monday.
The Cardinals never trailed at any point and each set got out of hand in a hurry.
"We played really well tonight," New Bremen coach Diana Kramer said. "We served well. We passed well. We attacked well. We exploited their weaknesses. We earned a lot of points. We limited our mistakes. I'm really, really proud. All I know is that teams get tougher the more you move on, so we've got to stay crisp and worry about what happens on our side of the net."
It was mostly positive on Bremen's side in the district semifinal.
Ava Trentman had three kills early in the first set for Bremen before a timeout in the middle of Dwenger's service run. Dwenger had three aces during said run, which increased the margin to 17-2. April Baker had three spikes before finishing off a 25-4 victory with back-to-back aces.
Similar to set one, Trentman collected a trio of kills early in set two. Dwenger followed with aces four, five and six as Bremen's cushion grew to 20-2.
"Every server was scoring points," Kramer said. "Sarah (Dwenger) was picking them apart. That gives me confidence as a coach to give them zones and then they can hit the zones. It was really good tonight all around."
Through two sets, five Cardinals had two or more kills. Allie Bornhorst got hot behind the service line in the third set. Mary Rindler took over the spiking attack. Bremen jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind Melina Scharder's service run and rolled to an 18-point win.
Bornhorst collected five aces. Schrader had a game-high 28 assists. Keira Steininger had 13 digs while Rindler (nine kills), Trentman (eight kills) and Baker (eight kills) led the attack. Lydia Bushman totaled five blocks.
The two-time defending champions can clinch a third straight regional berth with a win over Minster. In the regular season meeting, New Bremen swept Minster.
"They are going to come to play and we know we're going to get their best game," Kramer said.
Minster's Ava Stueve, left, and Sophia Dirksen look to bump the ball to a teammate.
There were moments in all three sets when it could have broken Van Buren's way.
But Minster never let that happen.
The Wildcats won three tight sets, including rallying from a six-point deficit in the clinching victory.
"Instead of being passive and being reactive, we were focused," Minster coach Chelsea McGhee said. "We came out and if we got down by two, three or four points, we'd brush it off and go out and get it."
The score was tied for the first time at 14-all in the first set. Minster had trailed the entire time up to that point, but a kill by Keri Heckman gave the Wildcats their first lead. There were six total ties in the opening set. Madison Williams helped Minster gain full control with a few kills late in the set. A block and kill by Kiersten Williams sealed the deal on a 25-23 win.
There were 12 ties in the second set. In crunch time, Kiersten Williams helped slam the door shut on Van Buren again. She broke a 21-all tie with a spike. After the teams traded points, Williams recorded her ninth kill to give the Wildcats set point. A Van Buren violation finished it.
Minster's Anna Kohne goes up to spike the ball during Monday's district semifinal match with Van Buren at Wapakoneta.
Minster faced a six-point deficit early in set three before starting to chip away. The Wildcats scored the first point of the set, then were outscored 4-0. They battled back to tie the score at 19-apiece and had enough in the tank to pull out a win.
Kiersten Williams had a team-high 10 kills. Madison Williams contributed nine kills and a team-best three aces. Heckman had seven kills. Lauren Tyler had 34 assists and 11 digs. Ava Stueve added a team-best 18 digs.
Now, their focus is on a rematch with Bremen.
"They are a great team," McGhee said. "Diana Kramer's a fantastic coach and she knows what she's doing. We have to remember that they don't set the tempo. We do. We can't get too caught up in who they are."
