That’s all Stillwater High needed to knock off top-ranked Santa Fe at home Tuesday night – a single serve. Facing match point, the Stillwater junior reached back and served a line drive over the net.
Santa Fe’s back row player dove for the ball, but was unable to pop up the ball, hitting it into the floor. Kloos’ wish came true, serving an ace on the final point.
“I wanted to get an ace,” Kloos said. “I was like it’s game point and I can do this – one more point, ace, I got it.”
A Stillwater celebration ensued as players off the bench rushed the court, joining the rest of the team on the court for a brief celebration before shaking hands with Santa Fe. The No. 4-ranked Lady Pioneers had just clipped No. 1 Santa Fe.
“This is so exciting,” senior Orianna Clements said. “This season has already been so exciting, this just makes it that much better.”
The Lady Pioneers won the match in five sets, clinching victory in the must-win fourth and fifth sets. Stillwater won 25-17, 23-25, 26-28, 25-17 and 15-7.
“They played their hearts out,” Stinchcomb said. “They were ready. They wanted this so badly and they showed it tonight. They wanted it and it showed in practice yesterday. That was one of the best practices we’ve had. It works – practice well, play well.”
Tuesday’s victory came one day after the initial Class 6A rankings were released. The Lady Pioneers (9-3) were thrilled to be ranked No. 4, but they wanted a win over previously unbeaten Santa Fe (7-1) on their home court.
“When the rankings came out last night, they were so excited,” Stinchcomb said. “They were texting me and saying, ‘Look what we did.’ I told them this is what we’re looking for. We started out the season and nobody knew what was coming.”
The final set was controlled by Stillwater from the beginning. SHS bolted to a 4-0 lead thanks to a block by senior Neely Holt and sophomore Lauren Phillips, an ace from junior Audrey Riley and two bad hits from Santa Fe.
That lead grew to 7-1 – thanks to Santa Fe miscues – before the the Lady Wolves called their first timeout. They trimmed the margin to three points until Kloos recorded a block, ending a 4-0 run. Two Lady Wolves’ hits out of bounds propelled the lead back to six points.
After a Santa Fe kill, Clements answered back with a kill of her own. Stillwater recorded another point before Kloos’ ace.
“I don’t think we’ve ever won state before,” Kloos said. “Beating Santa Fe, we have a chance. Now we know we have a chance.”
Down 2-1 in sets, Stillwater appeared to almost surrender the match. Santa Fe jumped out to 6-0 lead as the Lady Pioneers committed errors in a must-win set. However, the Lady Pioneers rallied with eight-straight points.
Kills from Riley and sophomore McKenzie Vilade sparked the rally. Phillips blocked a Santa Fe attack to tie the set. After a quick Santa Fe point, Stillwater took control with a 7-0 spurt, thanks to a Phillips ace, Kloos cross-court kill and a Holt block. Stillwater never relinquished its lead, winning 25-17 and forcing a fifth and decisive set.
“I’ve told them in the past, we play better when we’re goofballs and they know it,” Stinchcomb said. “When we start thinking too much, we get in our own heads and fall apart. So, just goof off – in the right way.”
The Lady Pioneers dropped the second and third sets. They rallied from a 23-16 deficit to tie the second set at 23-23, but lost the final two points. In the third set, Santa Fe sparked a late rally, down 22-15. Stillwater couldn’t hold on, dropping the set 28-26.
It was the first set where Stillwater gained momentum for the match. Tied 15-15, the Lady Pioneers closed the set on a 10-2 run. A Holt block, Riley kill and an ace from junior Brittan Hatcher sparked the rally. It continued with kills from Clements, Riley and Kloos, as the Lady Pioneers grabbed a 1-0 lead.
“They realized they could do it and that’s huge,” Stinchcomb said. “They were ready for this. They started realizing they could do it in the first set.”
Stillwater will be back in action at Thursday when it hosts Ponca City (3-5) at 6 p.m. Stinchcomb and the Lady Pioneers want to avoid a let down after Tuesday’s big win.
“We will absolutely talk about that,” Stinchcomb said. “We’ll have to remind them what happened last year. We lost those games last year and that might be a good reminder.”
Follow Jimmy Gillispie on Twitter @jgillispie_stw for Stillwater High volleyball updates.
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