Third-set rally helps Suns achieve destiny with state volleyball tournament berth

GRANVILLE, Ill. — The situation seemed daunting, and Tim Kerr admittedly wasn’t sure how to change course.

The Southeastern volleyball team trailed Newark 19-12 in the third set of Friday night’s Class 1A Putnam County Super-Sectional at R.M. Germano Gym, and the two-time reigning state champion Norsemen were in prime position to extend their 20-match postseason win streak when the Suns called timeout.

“I was kind of lost,” said Kerr, Southeastern’s veteran coach. “The girls were lost. I was lost. We weren’t sure what to do. The heads were kind of starting to fall, and they were starting to get the droopy faces. So the message in the timeout became we’ve had too great of a year to go out like this.

“We may lose, but we’re not going to have our heads down if we end up losing.”

The message hit home. A change in demeanor led to a change in momentum as the Suns went on a 10-3 run to tie the set at 22. A back-and-forth flurry finally ended with Southeastern freshman Amanda Stephens delivering back-to-back kills to finish off the 25-20, 21-25, 28-26 victory that earned the Suns a berth in the state tournament.

“It was awesome,” Kerr said.

It was so emotional the coach literally went to his knees.

“I took about four or five steps onto the floor, and I actually got overcome with emotion and got kind of dizzy,” Kerr said. “I almost halfway fainted. I went down to the ground. A couple came to tend to me and the trainer ran out. I told them, ‘I think I’m OK. I got overcome with emotion so I decided to lay this big ol’ plane down instead of having it crash.’

“That’s just what I felt. So much emotion. It was a huge relief and a huge moment of pride and kind of an unbelievable type thing. This really is unbelievable.”

Southeastern (37-2) will face Springfield Lutheran in the Class 1A state semifinals at 10:30 a.m. next Friday at Redbird Arena in Normal. It is the Suns’ first state tournament appearance since 2001 and third in program history, going back another 20 years to 1981 for the first state appearance ever in volleyball.

“I tried to keep that fact from everybody that it happens every 20 years, but somehow somebody found out and it became the calling card for the whole process,” Kerr said. “It was almost like a destiny type thing where it was meant to be.”

Stephens led the Suns with 19 kills and nine service points, while Taylor Wagner had 17 kills, 11 digs and seven service points and senior setter Ani Kerr had 38 assists.