Raiders embrace need to alter ending in their pursuit of state tournament success

QUINCY — George Santayana is credited with saying it. Courtney Kvitle is echoing it. And the Quincy Notre Dame volleyball players are embracing it.

So what is the mantra the early 20th century philosopher popularized that rings true today?

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

The Raiders clearly haven’t forgotten. They vow to change the ending, too.

Each of the past two seasons, QND has been within one set of reaching the Class 2A state tournament only to come up short, falling 14-25, 25-12, 25-23 in the super-sectional to Pleasant Plains in 2021 and 25-19, 22-25, 25-17 to Genoa-Kingston last fall. A handful of returnees experienced those losses, and now it serves as their everyday motivation.

“Even when we’re conditioning or doing a drill, it’s always there,” said senior outside hitter Delaney Beard, who totaled 31 kills during last fall’s 34-4 campaign but will have a larger role this fall. “We’re saying, ‘Pretend you’re in the super-sectional game in the third set.’ It’s somewhere we’ve been multiple times, and we just haven’t been able to get over that hump yet.

“So it comes down to pushing ourselves every day in practice to get over that hump finally.”

Kvitle, entering her sixth season as QND’s head coach, isn’t going to let the Raiders forget that.

“Keep talking about it,” said Kvitle, who has a 143-19 record with four regional titles, two sectional crowns and four 30-win seasons. “I’ve brought it up a few times in practice. The fact we’ve lost in the super the last two years is just tough. So obviously, being really disciplined and setting the standard super early is really important. It’s been the point of emphasis day one, day two, day three. We have to keep the standard as high as possible.”

The Raiders fully embrace that.

“It’s more of a mindset than anything,” Beard said. “We know we have all the skill and all the tools to get there. It’s a matter of knowing in our hearts we can get there. It’s been kind of discouraging the last two years losing the way we have. Having the faith we can get to the final four is such a big thing.”

Having the skill and the tools to contend is critical, too.

Despite heavy graduation losses, the Raiders believe their lineup will be dynamic.

Building around an experienced setter helps. Annie Eaton, a junior, begins her third season quarterbacking the QND offense and is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign in which she dished out 884 assists and helped the Raiders average 13 kills per set.

Eaton will have senior outside hitter Emma Hoing as one her main targets. Hoing finished second on the team last season with 266 kills. Sophomore middle Eva Breckenkamp returns after collecting 128 kills last season and should be more of a fixture at the net.

Gone are middle Abbey Schreacke (374 kills), outside hitters Ali Entrup and Laela Hernandez-Jones, libero Faith Kientzle and defensive specialist Lilly Marth. Kientzle and Marth combined for 444 digs last season.

Those losses don’t seem as consequential because of the camaraderie this team is showing.

“You don’t realize there are new faces because we all just connect and we are all happy being here together,” Hoing said. “It makes us all connect on a whole different level.”

The connection starts with Eaton.

“She’s a good quarterback,” Kvitle said. “Every year, you get a little better and gain more experience. She went to a lot of college camps. You experience new coaches telling you different things that maybe I hadn’t said before. It makes you a little better every year.”

Eaton and others worked diligently in the offseason to prepare for what lies ahead.

“A lot of the girls took the offseason very seriously with club volleyball, and I definitely see the improvements there,” Kvitle said. “I think people will be shocked when they come and watch us … in a good way.”

Beard concurred.

“I think a lot of people are counting us out already because we had so many seniors last year and so many crucial seniors,” Beard said. “But I believe we’re coming back as strong if not stronger because we have a smaller group and we’re tighter knit.”

They also know they can’t sit back and wait for someone else to come through. It’s now in their hands.

“Seeing kids flourish a little bit more since they’ve been put in different situations,” Kvitle said. “That will be exciting to see.”