11/2/2008
SAME OL' ROUTINE
Blazers headed to state finals once again.
Reprinted with permission from The News Dispatch

Adam Parkhouse
for The News-Dispatch

FULTON, Ind. - The success of Marquette's volleyball program has spanned three differrent coaches and a host of players, but one constant remains: The Blazers have now been a fixture in the Class A state finals for a decade.

It may seem like it's getting routine, but this never gets old. Marquette rolled to its 10th consecutive regional championship Saturday, disposing of Elkhart Christian Academy 25-22, 25-20, 25-14 to claim the Castion Regional, setting up a berth in next Saturday's state finals at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. Once there, the Blazers will try for their fifth consecutive Class A title and eighth in 10 years.

"You can see it when we have regional point and there are smiles all the way down the bench," Marquette coach Troy Campbell said when asked if his players still get excited over these wins. "They've worked very hard for all this and we're just happy to move on to the next step."

While the afternoon match was competitive, the morning semifinal was not. The Blazers made short work of No. 6 Pioneer (31-5), rolling to a 25-7, 25-10, 25-13 in a dominating effort.

"(Elkhart) played extremely well and they did what they could to slow down Ashley (Edmond)," Campbell said.

It was clear the Eagles (27-8) were going to do all they could to slow down Edmond, throwing consistent double and triple teams at the Blazers' dominating junior outside hitter.

Edmond was still able to be effective, but Marquette turned to the opposite side and Katie Clancy to get out of a first-game rut. The sophomore had four kills and two aces to help her team take a 12-9 lead, a boost the Blazers sorely needed early.

"There wasn't a big block so I was just swinging as hard as I could," said Clancy, who played mostly libero as a freshman. "I feel like I did my part. We all work together."

Elkhart, who advanced to the championship match by winning a five-game thriller over Washington Township (30-5), simply wouldn't go away. A kill from Brianna Gannon gave Marquette a 1-0 lead, but it was clear the Eagles planned to hang around.

That's exactly what they did in Game 2, despite Marquette taking a 4-0 lead to start. The game was tied as late as 15-15, but five consecutive aces from Gannon helped put the game away, and a bad Elkhart serve gave the Blazers a 2-0 lead in the match.

Finally, in Game 3, the Eagles ran out of steam. Though the score was tied as late as 6-6, the Eagles never seriously threatened and the Blazers celebrated yet again on Caston's gym floor.

"It was great to have an energy-packed match," Campbell said. "(Elkhart) played strong and represented themselves well. They have everything to be proud of."

While the victory wasn't unexpected, Campbell said Saturday's matches helped prepare his team for another state title run.

"It's making sure we know every point we have to come to play," Campbell said. "(The championship) match gave our role players big-time confidence."

In the semifinal, the Blazers were led by junior setter Amber Cerrillos' dominating effort from the service line.

She had 13 of her 18 aces on the day against Pioneer, but had likely the service run of her life in Game 2.

A block-kill from Edmond brought Marquette to within 4-3 of Pioneer and Cerrillos stepped to the service line. She ran off 13 consecutive points with her patented top-spin jump serve, and 10 of those points were aces.

"It was fabulous," Campbell said of Cerrillos' serving. "It's the best I've seen her."

For the day, Cerrillos had just two service errors, a low number for any jump server. Cerrillos said she was able to feed off the opposing crowd.

"I think the fans helped me when they were saying stuff," Cerrillos said. "It just makes me mad."

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.