Hawks knock out Saints with strong finish, advance to GLVC Tournament semifinals

EAST PEORIA, Ill. — No matter the size of the challenge, the Quincy University women’s volleyball players have the utmost faith in each other to overcome it.

So when Maryville dug in Thursday afternoon and won the third set of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup, the Hawks didn’t fret.

They hammered back.

The top-seeded Hawks used a five-point run early in the fourth set to snare the lead and closed the match by winning seven of the final eight points, getting back-to-back kills from Emma Wijnbergen to cement a 25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 25-18 victory at the EastSide Centre.

“We played with a lot of grit and worked through a lot of weird plays,” QU senior setter Makayla Knoblauch said. “Our offense also had to work really hard to score points. Usually teams play really free against us, and Maryville played amazing defense. We stayed the course and adjusted as we went.”

It moves Quincy (27-1) into the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. Friday against fourth-seeded Lewis (20-8). The winner plays for the GLVC championship at noon Saturday with an automatic NCAA Division II Tournament berth at stake.

The Hawks are No. 1 in the latest Midwest Region rankings, and Thursday’s victory likely cemented Quincy’s opportunity to play host to the regional beginning next Thursday.

The focus wasn’t on the NCAA Tournament or the seedings because the Hawks fully believe their resume speaks for itself. They focused on themselves and continue to push to make this magical season even more magical.

“We knew going into today that nobody cares that we were 26-1,” Knoblauch said. “It all kind of starts over. We also know that even though we are season champs and if we win a conference championship or national championship people will still make up excuses as to why we won.

“We feel that we have done everything we can to prove to people up to this point. Ranked, season champs, won crossover tournament, top of the region, only lost one game. If we are reminding anyone or proving it to anyone, it is to ourselves and all of the work we have put in.”

The hard work showed by taking control of Thursday’s match from the get-go.

A pair of three-point runs put the Hawks ahead 9-5 in the first set, but it was a 7-1 run later in the set that punctuated the strong start. In the second set, Quincy used a 9-3 finish to move within a set of advancing.

Two kills by Mattison Norris kickstarted the run, and Emily Rehagen finished it with another kill. The Saints had four attack errors in between.

The Saints used a 9-2 run, featuring a pair of kills by Quincy Notre Dame graduate Taylor Keck, to win the third set, but the Hawks’ offense wouldn’t relent.

Rehagen finished with 20 kills, while Norris and Wijnbergen had 12 kills apiece. Knoblauch dished out 49 assists, and five Hawks had double digits in digs with America Galvan leading the way with 21.

“Honestly, we have faced adversity on and off the court all year long,” QU senior setter Makayla Knoblauch said. “We know that we can overcome anything as a team. Heck, our coaches have driven vans and SUVs almost all year. We know that we have to earn everything and are trying to not put too much pressure on ourselves but rely on each other in the moment.”