HOOPER -- “Three in a row ... you can do it.”
The screaming from the Fremont Bergan student section inside Logan View High School’s gym rang true Tuesday night in the C2-4 subdistrict final Tuesday night.
Top seeded Lyons-Decatur Northeast jumped out to a 2-0 lead but the Lady Knights responded winning three in a row to move on and face David City Aquinas Friday in Class C2-2 district final at a site yet to be determined.
“I am so excited right now,” Bergan junior Jessy Schroedter said. “I’m already pumped up for Friday.”
Bergan won the match 22-25, 22-25, 25-13, 25-21, 15-11 and improved to 20-13 on the season.
Tuesday’s win almost never happened, though, as the Cougars posted wins in the first two sets taking advantage of Bergan’s shaky defense.
“I like the way we started each of those two games but we just didn’t flow as a team and we weren’t in system,” Bergan head coach Sue Wewel said. “Our defense wasn’t very good in the first two games; it takes all six of us playing defense not just one or two.”
Bergan held the early leads in the first two sets but Northeast rallied to win both.
Janae Radtke’s kill but Bergan up 12-9 at the midway point of the first set. However, the Cougars went on a run of seven straight points to go up 16-12.
Bergan made a late push to pull within 21-19 on a Kortney Classen kill but came no closer the rest of the way.
Bergan led the second set 9-6 on one of Courtney Cook’s game-high 26 kills but a kill by Brianne Bacon, two my Emily Ueding and one by Morgan Daberkow put the Cougars up 10-9.
The Lady Knights pulled back to tie the game three times but later a Rachael Nickel kill gave Northeast a 20-16 lead. Bergan battled back but a Ueding kill and Daberkow ace serve put the game out of reach.
Bergan’s rally started with a dominating 25-13 third-set victory.
“We just found our intensity and then we took over,” Schroedter said. “It was an awesome feeling to play like that ... it was so much fun.”
Kari Schmitz led Bergan on the night with 26 points, eight of which came from behind the service line in the Lady Knights’ 8-0 start to game three.
Also during that stretch Schroedter came up with a block of Ueding and two kills.
Later behind two Radtke service aces, Bergan took a 12-3 lead and another Schroedter kill made it 19-8 to put the game out of reach.
“Jessy (Schroedter) started to hit the ball well again for us and also our back row seemed to pick up the pace more,” Wewel said.
Bergan took a 10-6 lead in the fourth set on a Cook kill and the game went back and forth until the Lady Knights pulled ahead 21-16 on two Cook ace serves and 24-18 on two Classen ace serves.
The Cougars pulled to within 21-24 but a service error handed Bergan the win.
The Lady Knights took command of the final set with freshman Hailey Kirby at the service line. Kirby split two Cook kills with an ace serve to claim a 6-4 lead after Northeast jumped out 4-2.
Later a Cook kill and ace serve put Bergan up 8-5 and a Radtke kill and Cougar error made it 12-8.
Cook closed out the victory with two kills.
“We talked in the huddle before the third game that this was it and that we had to win the next three games,” Wewel said. “Then we just caught on fire.”
Schroedter added 11 kills in the win and Kirby ended with 45 set assists.
Cook tallied four ace serves and Radtke and Jordan Ruskamp added three each. Cook also led with 21 digs and Radtke added 16 and Classen 14.
Brianne Bacon led the Cougars (22-8) with 19 kills.
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