Keeping the faith: Entrup’s run of service points helps QND rally to win sectional volleyball title

RIVERTON, Ill. — Sydney Entrup believed a little divine intervention wouldn’t hurt.

So as she lined up to serve with the third set of Thursday night’s Class 2A Riverton Sectional volleyball championship hanging in the balance, the Quincy Notre Dame senior gave herself an inspirational pep talk.

“I just kept going back there and saying, ‘God’s got me,’” Entrup said. “I put all my faith in Him.”

The Raiders put their faith in her.

Trailing Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 18-17 after an Annie Eaton kill swung the serve back to QND, the Raiders scored six consecutive points on Entrup’s serve to finally seize control of a nip-and-tuck set and punch their ticket to the elite eight with a 25-16, 20-25, 25-20 victory.

“It honestly felt so good,” Entrup said. “I wasn’t having the best night. To come out and do that, I was really proud of myself. I knew that I could do it, and I fully believed in myself and believed that my team would support me and trust me back there.”

It felt even better to move one step closer to the state tournament.

“We’ve all worked a lot to get to this point, and we’re all really proud of ourselves,” Entrup said. “We all want it really badly, and I think that goes a long way on the court.”

The Raiders (36-2) will need that desire to carry them through one more match as they will face Breese Mater Dei (35-3) at 6 p.m. Monday in the Class 2A Pana Super-Sectional. The Knights won the Staunton Sectional with a 27-25, 25-16 victory over Columbia.

QND beat Mater Dei in three sets two weeks ago in the QND Volleyball Bash, offering a glimpse of what both teams should expect.

“We know what they’re going to bring to the table,” QND coach Danielle White said. “But I think it’s time we show up and take care of business and do what we know how to do.”

That’s the way Thursday’s match started.

QND scored four of the first six points, watched SHG surge ahead by two points and then settled in on Nora Wiley’s serve to take control. The Raiders trailed 12-11 when Wiley, a junior outside hitter, served eight consecutive points, including three after the Cyclones called a timeout.

The Raiders scored 16 of the final 20 points of the set.

“The girls’ perseverance throughout this entire season has always shown in their ability to not give up,” White said. “We really have focused on fighting through and overcoming the obstacles, and so they’ve really grown as athletes and young ladies and tonight that showed again.”

QND opened the second set by winning six of the first eight points, forcing SHG to call a timeout. The Cyclones scored the next four points and neither team led by more than two points until SHG scored six of the final seven points of the set to force a third-set tiebreaker.

“We came out of the timeout flatter than a pancake,” White said. “We lost all of our momentum.”

It took time to regain it.

The third set went back-and-forth with neither team leading by more than three points and the score being tied six times before Entrup took control.

“It’s so special to see each of them have their moment, and you don’t know when that moment is going to happen,” White said. “When each of them get their moment, they always shine. It was so special for Sydney to have that tonight.”

Madalyn Boyer’s kill tied the set at 18 and Entrup followed with back-to-back aces, forcing SHG to burn a timeout.

“It’s just a relief,” Entrup said of the aces. “It takes so much off your chest and makes you feel so good. It’s a feeling no one can beat in that moment.”

White wanted the Raiders to capitalize on that feeling.

“During that timeout, I looked at all of them and said, ‘I want you to look me in the eyes right now and I want you to know we’re going to get on top here and we’re not looking back,’” White said. “I reminded them the only option was to finish this set. We all believed it, and Sydney sealed the deal for us.”

Entrup added a dynamic defensive play to complete the run as she made a diving dig during a long rally that led to a block at the net that resulted in a point and a 23-18 lead.

That’s when the tension eased just enough for the Raiders to finish without a flinch, giving them back-to-back three-set victories.

“I had a bunch of the grandmas come up to me after the game and say, ‘I think I’m going to have to make an appointment with my heart doctor after that,’” White said. “It’s been that kind of week.”

An unforgettable one, especially for Entrup.

“This is something she’s going to remember for a long time,” White said.