Long day ahead -- Well, it's 1 p.m. and we are already behind here in Normal at the girls volleyball State Finals.
St. Edward, scheduled to begin at 12:30, has yet to take the court.
When it does, I will update this blog entry periodically throughout the match (we'll see how things go).
Check back throughout the day for more updates and notes.
I will also be blogging for Burlington Central and St. Charles East. Despite falling behind time-wise, we should be able to catch back up after Class 2A concludes its semifinal matches. There was already a scheduled break until 4:30, when play resumes with Class 3A and 4A semifinal matches.
1:20 -- I've done some investigative work on why the State Finals is already behind on the schedule. One official told me, "We were supposed to start this morning at 9:30, but the first match didn't start until 9:54 and I'm not sure why."
That's all I got.
Earlier results:
Class 1A
Lanark d. Cumberland 25-22, 25-16
Ashland d. W. Prairie 20-25, 25-18, 25-22
Right now, Princeton and Unity are in Game 2 of their match.
St. Edward vs. Freeburg to follow. Stay tuned.
1:40 -- Unity just defeated Princeton in 2 games.
Just talked to St. Edward coach Jaime Walton, who was nervously pacing the runway near the press room. She said there is scheduled to be another delay of some sort before the Green Wave takes the court. Something about recognizing some junior high volleyball players.
1:48 -- St. Edward is on the court. Warm-ups are underway. Finally!
The Green Wave come out wearing all black (shirt, shorts). Freeburg is dressed in all blue.
2:01 -- The Midgets of Freeburg don't look so small. They have four players listed in the media guide as 6-foot or taller. St. Edward has three players listed at 5-11 (Katie Yohn, Molly Kelly and Tess Barry).
Teams nearing end of warm-ups. Now serving to each other.
2:05 -- Nothing like a little "YMCA" to get the crowd excited. Freeburg looks to have the edge in fan support. The Midgets student section is rowdy already.
Players introductions beginning. Game-time just minutes away.
2:12 -- Players have been introduced and now taking the court for Game 1. I will update every so often from here on out. St. Edward's Katie Ayello will begin the match serving.
St. Edward scores first point on block by Tess Barry. 1-0.
2:22 -- Freeburg 14, St. Edward 10.
2:24 -- St. Edward 15, Freeburg 15. Freeburg calls first timeout of Game after St. Edward's Kristen Haggenjos serves up an ace to tie it.
2:27 -- Freeburg 19-17. St. Edward's Jaime Walton calls a timeout after Freeburg's Colleen Yarber slams one down the line emphatically.
2:31 -- Freeburg 22, St. Edward 21. Freeburg calls another timeout after back-to-back aces by St. Edward's Molly Kelly pulls Wave within 1 point. St. Edward was down by as much as 22-18.
2:34 -- Freeburg 24, St. Edward 23. Timeout Green Wave.
2:35 -- Freeburg 25, St. Edward 23. Midgets win Game 1 on a block-kill by Sarah Volmer. Both teams struggled serving in Game 1. The Midgets had four serving errors, while the Wave had three.
GAME 2
2:45 -- St. Edward 9, Freeburg 9.
2:47 -- Freeburg 12, St. Edward 10 -- Timeout St. Edward. Wave's Kristen Haggenjos heating up. After one kill in Game 1, she has four already in Game 2.
2:54 -- Freeburg 22, St. Edward 18.
2:56 -- Freeburg 23, St. Edward 20. St. Edward calls timeout with its back against the wall. Midgets need just two points to close out match and advance to tomorrow's Class 2A championship match.
2:59 -- Freeburg 25, St. Edward 22 .That's it for Green Wave on Day 1. St. Edward will play in third-place match tomorrow at 11:35 vs. Princeton.
3:20 -- Interviews are over. St. Edward sent coach Jaime Walton and seniors Katie Yohn, Molly Kelly and Kristen Haggenjos to the interview room.
Time to write the story. Check back around 4:30 when Burlington Central takes the court to take on Chicago Payton.
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