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Alter nips Roger Bacon, will defend state title By Jim Jicha The way Carrie DeMange started things off Saturday, it looked like the regional final between Arcbishop Alter and Roger Bacon was going to be one of those quick matches. Alter’s Duke bound senior hitter was absolutely sensational in helping the Knights to grab a 9-0 lead. Now, not many teams would be able to come back from that kind of deficit against a team like Alter. Let alone a team with no seniors. Yes, you read that right. Roger Bacon has no seniors. And they start three sophomores. Here they were, down 9-0 before they even knew what hit them, against an Alter squad who finished fifth in the Nike Challenge, who had powerhouse Mater Dei of California on the ropes at match point, and who beat Bellevue, Nebraska and Louisville Sacred Heart. And DeMange, one of the state’s premier spikers, was on fire. Archbishop Alter did end up winning this match -- in two games. But before it was over Roger Bacon demonstrated to everybody in attendance that they are one tough volleyball team. The Spartans have an outstanding setter in Katie Veatch. They have a bevy of hitters who can pound the ball. They dig, transition and pass like a GGCL team, which they are. And when they fall behind 9-0 to the number one team in the state --- they dig in their heels and rally! Led by DeMange's sizzling start, Alter got off to a 4-0 lead, with a few sideouts in between points. After two more sideouts Mandy Robbe stepped up to the line and served up five points as DeMange, who was back in front row, upped the heat by smashing four kills and assisting Lindsey Woeste on a block. Game one was looking like a lost cause for the Spartans. But the next serve nicked the net, and Roger Bacon mounted a slow comeback. It started innocuously on a hitting error by the Knights. Jessy Hoeh blocked a spike by Woeste and then recorded a kill after server Jamie Frey dug a Knights’ dump attempt. When a spike by DeMange was out Bacon was at least in the game at 9-4. DeMange came right back with a sideout kill and Alter scored on a net violation. Hoeh’s smash gave the ball back to Bacon who scored twice on errant Alter hits. In between points, Amy Wetterau and Robbe had kills for Alter sideouts that were followed by net serves. After Alter got the serve back they went up 12-6, scoring once when Bacon’s dig of a Woeste spike hit the pole, and again on a double block by DeMange and Ali Hausfeld of Frey. But Frey followed up with a kill and Bacon closed the gap to 12-11. Heather Hausfeld blocked a DeMange spike attempt to start the rally. Hoeh’s two handed hit was dug out of bounds, following another nice dig of a dump set. After Alyssa Carlotta made a great dig on DeMange, Alter committed a net foul. This was followed by a play that saw Wetterau save one Roger Bacon spike with a pancake only to have the Spartans score on a booming double block of DeMange by Hausfeld and Hoeh. On the next play a Bacon defender got to a DeMange tip that was headed into a hole, and Hoeh hit a spike that was blocked out of play. In between the points Ali Hausfeld forced two sideouts for Alter on a dump and a kill, but the Knights could not capitalize. But with the score 12-11, DeMange got a kill, then went back to the line and served up an ace. Carlotta hit a line drive spike that slided off two Alter defenders and out of bounds to keep Bacon alive. On the next play Alter’s hit was out and, when a spike by Lauren Newton smashed down in the Knights’ backcourt, Roger Bacon had come all the way back. Unfortunately for the Spartans their next serve was out -- not by much -- but Alter’s players watched it closely and pulled away just in time. Bacon then made an overpass that Robbe buried to take Alter to game point. On the next play Ali Hausfeld set to DeMange who was in backrow. She hit a low liner, and when it sliced off the Bacon defender’s hand, Alter fans could breath a sigh of relief. Roger Bacon started game two right where they left off charging out to a 8-3 lead. The Hausfeld’s traded blows first, with Ali breaking Bacon’s opening serve with a kill, and Heather blocking DeMange. After Bacon’s next hit was out, Alter took a brief 2-0 lead on two errors. Carlotta and Hausfeld blocked for the Spartans’ first point. After three sideouts Robbe scored a kill off a set by Wetterau to make it 3-1. Carlotta responded for Bacon with a hard spike that was blocked into the upper deck. There followed six more sideouts, ending on a cross court smash by Frey, who then served up an ace to resume scoring. After four more sideouts with nice kills by DeMange and Frey, the latter from back court, freshman Kelsey Rose got another ace for Bacon. Two sideouts later Carlotta scored on a block and Hoeh aced a line drive serve that dropped like a rock. This was followed by four more spiking sideouts. Then a kill by Frey ended a nice long volley making it 6-3. Hoeh rejected another dump attempt and Alter committed a hitting error. Lauren Sheppard’s ace made it 8-3. Now DeMange entered the picture again, stuffing an overpass after a Bacon defender saved her initial spike, and it was Alter’s turn to rally. DeMange and Hausfeld (Ali) teamed up for a block. Hausfeld served an ace. Wetterau got a kill after a long volley that saw great defensive plays by both sides. Bacon was called for four hits. DeMange slammed a spike that landed just inside the line. Alter’s next serve was out, and Bacon moved back up on two hitting errors. On one, DeMange tried to slam the ball from the right side, parallel with and just across the net, into what was a wide open area by the net, but got a little too much on it. It would have been a difficult and spectacular kill. Wetterau stopped the mini rally with a kill, and Robbe scored on a block. With play getting very intense, Carlotta hit a smash that was blocked out of bounds. Robbe did the same for Alter, but Carlotta came right back with another. She then served an ace that dropped at the line to put her team up 11-9. But on the ensuing play Bacon was in the net. Ali Hausfeld and DeMange teamed up for another block, this time of Frey. The teams traded sideouts with DeMange’s kill returning serve back to Alter. DeMange then tied it with a kill. Frey gave Bacon another shot, but after Carlotta turned a DeMange smash into a nice pass, DeMange responded with a terminating blast. Ali Hausfeld’s ace put Alter on top 12-11, and after two sideouts, DeMange laid an ace down the right side line. Hoeh forced a sideout, but Robbe’s kill kept the serve with Alter. Bacon’s next hit was out and the Knights were at match point. Hoeh forced one more sideout, but Woeste crunched a blast down the line to restore the serve. When setter Ali Hausfeld hit a spike that richocheted off a block by Frey, Alter had survived their biggest challenge. Alter coach Tina Jasinowski seconded that saying that “it was a huge win for us … we knew Bacon would be coming to get us and, more than any other time this season, we were really aware of the ‘targets on our backs’. I thought Bacon played a great match and they have had quite an impressive season (having graduated most of last year's team)”. Jasinowski was pleased with the way her team kept their composure. She cited Amy Wetterau for “playing really ‘big’ during both of our regional matches and coming up with some crucial, aggressive hits today". The coach also credited “Mandy Robbe's (junior middle) 'fire' late in game two gave us that extra spark we needed and, I think, made the difference” Jasinowski summed it up saying “hats off to our kids for conquering the pressure and playing tough in the end!” And hats off to both teams for playing outstanding volleyball and and providing fans with an exciting match.
Archbishop Alter Stats: Carrie De Mange: 2 aces, 18 kills, 6 blocks, 8 digs, 1 save Ali Hausfeld: 2 aces, 2 kills, 28 assists, 6 blocks, 15 digs, 2 saves Lindsey Woeste: 5 kills, 1 block, 8 digs Mandy Robbe: 8 kills, 2 blocks, 8 digs Nikki Kelly: 1 kill, 1 assist, 9 digs, 3 saves Amy Wetterau: 3 kills, 4 assists, 12 digs
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