Scotus overcomes errors in win

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BY RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star

DAVID CITY — Columbus Scotus’ 17 hitting errors and 16 missed serves didn’t set well with coach John Petersen’s perfectionist side that expects error-free, precision volleyball from his Shamrocks.

But the Class C-1 No. 2 Shamrocks’ 25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22 victory at C-2 No. 3 Aquinas Tuesday night more than satisfied his competitive nature.

“We’re maybe not totally happy with our performance, but we found a way to get it done on the road against a good team,” said Petersen, whose team improved to 6-1. “The team can learn a lot about themselves in a match like this.”

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The Shamrocks finally found separation at the ends of sets 1, 2 and 4 after Aquinas (4-2) battled them point for point through most of the match. Both sets 1 and 2 were tied at 21 before Scotus reeled off the final four points. The fourth set was knotted at 20 when the Shamrocks put together their match-ending run.

Scotus never trailed again after a left-side kill by Ashley Paprocki gave it a 21-20 lead in the decisive set. After an Aquinas hitting error, middle blocker Katie Beiermann bump set to outside hitter Monica Boeding for a kill that made it 23-20.

A Katie Holoubek kill followed by a Scotus hitting error brought Aquinas as close as 23-22, but a right side kill by setter Sami Spenner off an assist from Beiermann and an ace block by Kelli Schmacher on match point closed it out.

Boeding, a 5-foot-9 junior, and Paprocki, a 5-7 senior outside hitter, led Scotus with 13 kills each. Beiermann, a 5-10 senior, had 11 kills, mostly on slide plays with Spenner, who had 38 assists. Beiermann also had three ace blocks and three ace serves.

“It wasn’t pretty, but we can also gain confidence from this,’’ Spenner said. “We fell apart at times, yet we still got it done in some tough circumstances.’’

Aquinas, which lost 25-18, 25-10 to Shamrocks in the finals of the Columbus Scotus Invitational 10 days earlier, refused to go away after Scotus jumped to an 11-4 lead in the third set. Aquinas battled back by taking advantage of six missed serves, five hitting errors and two setting miscues by the Shamrocks.

The Monarchs took the lead for good on back-to-back Shamrock hitting errors that put them ahead 19-18. Two more mistakes by Scotus accounted for points 24 and 25, forcing a fourth set.

“Once we settled down, we played with a lot of heart and desire,’’ Aquinas coach Jody Pelan said. “The girls took a big step forward tonight. You never know how kids are going to respond after losing those first two.”

Amy Kreikemeier led Aquinas with 14 kills and two blocks, while 6-foot junior Katie Holoubek added 10 kills and senior setter Taylor Pelan had 33 assists.

Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.