Bishop Miege volleyball finishes season with second-place finish at state
In many respects, the 2016 volleyball season was unlike virtually any other in Bishop Miege history.
A young team with a new coach facing a tough schedule struggled to find its footing. The Stags labored under .500 all season long and hardly looked like a team capable of challenging for a state championship.
Yet when the postseason hit, Miege looked a whole lot like its usual self. The Stags dominated last week’s Class 4A Division I sub-state and continued their overwhelming play during Friday’s pool play at the state tournament in Salina’s Bicentennial Center.
Though Miege couldn’t quite finish off its late-season surge with a fourth straight state title, the runner-up finish left the program plenty satisfied. Rose Hill ended the Stags’ run with a 25-22, 25-20 win in Saturday’s championship match.
“It’s hard to put into words how far we came this year,” said Miege first-year coach Kathleen Ludwig, who replaced legendary coach Gwen Pike.
“I just want to give them so much credit because they had to go through so much adversity. We have been close and lost some tight matches, and I told them when you’re losing it hurts worse, you’re more sore and more tired. And they had to face it more than any other Miege team.
“I think it came together and I wish the end result would show that. But the team we’ve been the last two weekends has been the team we’ve wanted to be all season.”
Miege powered past Andover Central 25-15, 25-17 in the semifinal match to set up a showdown with a Rose Hill team that had been equally dominating in its march to the title match and featured 6-foot-1 sophomore sensation Gracie Van Driel, who is headed to play volleyball at Kansas.
Her presence at the net was a major challenge for Miege, but the Stags handled it well early. After falling behind quickly, Miege hit the Rockets with an 8-2 run behind kills from four different players.
Miege was still up 13-9 when Rose Hill found its groove. Four kills and a block by Van Driel sparked a 7-1 Rocket run for a 16-14 lead. Miege forged ties at 18, 19 and 20 before Anna Van Driel put Rose Hill up for good with a kill and Gracie ended it with a powerful spike.
“They played lights out,” Ludwig said of Rose Hill. “They played fast and had a lot of big, physical girls who were blocking balls, and we just had to try and match that. We had to make far less errors than we did.”
Miege got off to another good start in the second set, leading 4-1 behind a pair of kills from Maggie Smardo. The Stags held the lead until two kills from Rose Hill’s Breckynn Myers triggered a 6-1 spurt that put the Rockets in command.
Rose Hill stretched the lead to 22-16 before Miege scored four straight points capped by a Mallory White ace. Rose Hill then ended the match with kills from both Van Driels around a Jadan Heinz ace.
Miege finished the season just 15-29, but will graduate just two seniors — Hannah Weber and Claira Creach.
“For us, this was a big accomplishment,” said White, a sophomore. “We’ve had a lot of times this year where we didn’t pull through, and this might have been one of them. But this whole tournament, we played the best we have this season. Look how close we were, that was almost us. Next year, we’re coming back at it and it’s our turn again.”
▪ Paola finished fourth in the 4A, falling 25-14, 25-20 to Rose Hill in the semifinals and 29-27, 25-20 to Andover Central for third.
This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Bishop Miege volleyball finishes season with second-place finish at state."