By Jack McCarthy
Special to the Tribune
NORMAL, Ill. -- Mount Pulaski made up for a slow start today when it rallied for a victory against Seymour in a Class 1A state volleyball semifinal.
The Toppers (30-11) earned a 19-25, 25-17, 25-20 victory at Redbird Arena to reach a state-championship match for the eighth time since 1988. They will play defending champion Eastland (39-2), which downed Cumberland 23-25, 25-13, 25-23, for the title at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Special to the Tribune
NORMAL, Ill. -- Mount Pulaski made up for a slow start today when it rallied for a victory against Seymour in a Class 1A state volleyball semifinal.
The Toppers (30-11) earned a 19-25, 25-17, 25-20 victory at Redbird Arena to reach a state-championship match for the eighth time since 1988. They will play defending champion Eastland (39-2), which downed Cumberland 23-25, 25-13, 25-23, for the title at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
"Sometimes we start pretty slow in the first game," Mount Pulaski senior middle
Morgan Litterly said. "I don't know what it is -- it's early in the
morning so you can blame it on that. Then we come back and start
hammering the ball."
The Toppers opened Game 3 with a 10-1 run, then weathered an Indians comeback. Seymour (36-3) cut the deficit to one, 19-18, on Stephanie Harris' ace, but never got closer.
Mount Pulaski took advantage of five late Seymour errors to clinch the game and match.
Harris, a senior middle, led the Indians with 12 kills. Junior middle Samantha Nichols paced the Toppers with 10 kills, while junior outside Haley Bowles added seven.
In the second semifinal, Eastland got the winning point on a Megan Bunyer kill to earn the opportunity to defend its state crown against Mount Pulaski, a team Eastland beat in three games in September.
The Toppers opened Game 3 with a 10-1 run, then weathered an Indians comeback. Seymour (36-3) cut the deficit to one, 19-18, on Stephanie Harris' ace, but never got closer.
Mount Pulaski took advantage of five late Seymour errors to clinch the game and match.
Harris, a senior middle, led the Indians with 12 kills. Junior middle Samantha Nichols paced the Toppers with 10 kills, while junior outside Haley Bowles added seven.
In the second semifinal, Eastland got the winning point on a Megan Bunyer kill to earn the opportunity to defend its state crown against Mount Pulaski, a team Eastland beat in three games in September.
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