NewCath advances to regional final over Brossart
NewCath 2, Brossart 0 (25-17, 25-12)
NEWPORT, Ky-Brossart won its first regional playoff game, since 1998, Tuesday night against Harrison County 2-0 (25-14, 25-16) and were looking to pull away with a regional title against the tournament's hosting team Newport Catholic.
The first game was like two fighters in a championship bout. The score would go back and forth within two points, and when the game was in favor of the Thoroughbreds 8-7, the Breds out paced the mustangs for the remainder of the game 17-10 to win 25-17.
"I think the key point to us tonight was just to relax and play," said NewCath head coach, Vicki Fleissner. "In the first match we played very tight. We were making errors that we really don't usually do. So once we settled down in the second game it really helped us."
It helped enough that the home team did not look the same, and bolted out of the gate to a commanding 8-1 lead over Brossart.
"Our communication stepped up, our offensive selections really changed," explained Coach Fleissner. "We weren't just swinging at the ball. We were trying to hit the shots that we know were open.
Senior Maggie O'Cay pointed to the success of the team to chemistry.
"We got up, we had our passers nailing us up there on the net," said O'Cay. "Our setter Taylor [Snyder] was setting us up and we put them down."
O'Cay was set up with nine kills and also served two aces on the night. Snyder, who surpassed the 2,000 mark for her career with assists this year, supplied another 26 on this night.
"I think she's the best setter in Kentucky," said O'Cay with a chuckle and a smile about Snyder.
What also helped NewCath was the home court advantage. About 100 of the boys from the school were cheering and rooting on the team. At one point the officials asked the group to be silent so Bishop Brossart could put the ball in play.
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"There's not like an etiquette to it, but umm," explained NewCath senior Elizabeth Gruenschlaeger. "It's, I guess, nicer if you don't yell while the other team is serving, but it happens."
Brossart's server waited patiently. She smiled as if trying not to laugh at the situation and bounced the ball until the referee signaled with a blow of the whistle to begin playing.
Gruenschlaeger had eight kills for the Thoroughbreds, to help her team win 2-0 over Bishop Brossart 25-17 and 25-12.
Tori Hackworth led the Mustangs' scoring efforts with three kills, but the team gave up 14 points on dead balls during the two games.
NewCath will take on Campbell County Wednesday, Oct 20th at 7:00 for the KHSAA Region 10 championship.