Contributing writer
The Bluebird volleyball team went 5-0 in the Wheat State League Tournament at Solomon on Saturday to secure the tournament championship to go along with the regular season championship.
In pool play, the Bluebirds tackled eighth seeded Hope. Goessel held a slim 12-11 lead and then rattled off eight consecutive points to take an insurmountable lead, 20-11. They finished the game with a win, 25-16. In the second set Hope stayed close with the game tied at 7. Goessel gradually accumulated points, taking advantage of Lion errors and won the game, 25-16.
Against Elyria Christian, the Bluebirds streaked to a 13-1 lead but then traded points as the Bluebirds prevailed 25-11. In the second set, Goessel stormed to a 8-0 lead and then played a solid game to win 25-15.
Little River, the four seed, had suffered a defeat earlier in pool play and were poised to give the Bluebirds all they could handle. The lead changed hands five times in the first set, with Goessel gaining the advantage 16-15. Makaila Schmidt earned two kills and Alex Hiebert blocked at the net to give the Bluebirds four consecutive points, jumping ahead 20-16.
Little River would get within one point several times, but Goessel squeaked out a 25-23 win. The difference in set two was that Goessel led the first part of the game by as many as four points. The Redskins tied the game at 13 and then went on to take the lead, giving it back to Goessel 19-17, but then retaking the lead 21-20 and forcing a third set with a win 25-22. The Bluebirds put together a solid third set and with a 13-10 lead outscored Little River 11-1 to coast to a 25-14 win for the match.
In the semifinal match, Goessel faced Centre. The Bluebirds dominated both sets winning 25-9 and 25-8. Multiple unforced errors doomed the Cougars chances as the Goessel front line won kill after kill and the back row played well. D’Ambra Kruger had two kills and two blocks in succession sparking the Bluebird win in set one.
For the championship match, Little River surfaced again as the opponent. For the fifth time this season, Goessel was victorious over the Redskings. Paige Booton, Alex Hiebert, Tia Goertzen and Schmidt contributed well from the hitting positions as Aimee Flaming and Jessica Harvey set up their attackers. The Bluebirds started strong in both sets and won, 25-12 and 25-10. The championship bests the Bluebirds second-place finish in the tournament one year ago. With five wins this week, Goessel moves to an overall record of 26-10 and now waits for their seed in the sub-state tournament to be held on Saturday at Centre.