Raiders rely on strong start to create momentum in sweeping Blue Devils in crossdown showdown

QUINCY — Quincy Notre Dame volleyball coach Danielle White’s suit was fit for the occasion. So was the Raiders’ performance.

The Raiders blitzed Quincy High School in the first set and staved off a late Blue Devils rally in the second set to win 25-16, 25-22 on Monday at the QHS gym.

White took Pink Night to the next level with an all-pink suit complete with pink heels.

“I had the jacket from last Easter, then I realized we had a pink out night, and I was like, ‘I’ve got to get the pants,’” White said. “The girls asked if I was wearing my (pink) shirt, and I’m like, ‘No, I have a pink suit and I’m breaking it out.’ We had some fun with it.”

Raiders senior setter Annie Eaton approved of the suit.

“I loved it,” Eaton said. “She looked amazing.”

White loved how her team looked. Despite going the previous four days without playing a match, the Raiders exploded out of the blocks. They scored five of the first six points and held the Blue Devils without a kill until Alayna Moore put a ball down to trim the Raiders’ lead to 17-7.

“That shows where we’re at and where we want to be right now as far as not allowing them to have kills on us but also how strong our offense is,” White said of the Raiders’ fast start. “Defensively, we picked up a lot tonight and we adjusted when they started tipping. We adjusted well to what they brought but also executed what we wanted to.”

Raiders junior outside hitter Nora Wiley echoed her coach.

“We handled the ball, and they had trouble handling the ball,” Wiley said. “We passed very well, setted very well, and that allowed us to get our kills, get our tips, find the floor.”

Slow starts have been QND’s bugaboo at times this season, but junior middle hitter Eva Breckenkamp said a rivalry match with QHS and a buzzing gym provided all the energy the Raiders needed.

“We usually start off pretty slow then kick it into high gear, but I think the atmosphere and the adrenaline rush gets you on your feet,” Breckenkamp said.

A 5-1 Blue Devils run cut their deficit to 22-15, but the Raiders scored three of the next four points to put the set away. A dump set kill by Eaton and a swing into the net by Blue Devils junior middle hitter Madison Loos provided the final two points of the set.

The teams traded points early in the second set. The Blue Devils took an 8-7 lead on a Loos tip kill over the QND block, but the Raiders rebounded to take the lead on a Breckenkamp swing that clipped the top of the Blue Devils’ block before landing out. Breckenkamp’s swing found the floor inbounds on the next point, and the Raiders were off and running.

Back-to-back aces by senior libero Kourtney Keck gave the Raiders an 18-11 lead. With the score at 21-15, Wiley registered a block and a kill on consecutive points to get the Raiders within two points of winning the match.

“I was like, ‘Game over. Let’s go,’” Wiley said.

The Blue Devils had other thoughts. After the Raiders reached match point at 24-17, the Blue Devils rattled off five straight points.

“I told them, ‘The game isn’t over until it’s 25. I’ve seen teams come back from 16-24 and take a game. It’s possible, but you have to believe it’s possible,’” Blue Devils coach Kate Brown said. “They started to believe in that as things started going through one point at a time. They did that and they stayed big at the net on the big hitters they were showing us.”

Breckenkamp and the Raiders gathered themselves in the huddle after they watched their lead dwindle to just two points.

“We were like, ‘Come on guys, we know better than this,’” Breckenkamp said.

Eaton took matters into her own hands to finish the match. Eaton thwarted the Blue Devils’ comeback attempt with her fourth dump set kill of the match.

“We were really proud of ourselves,” Eaton said. “We kept our composure and had really good energy.”

Eaton said her ability to throw opposing defenses for a loop with her dump sets gives the Raiders more freedom offensively.

“It’s a pretty split second decision,” Eaton said. “Me being able to do that opens up all of my hitters. If the blockers and the defense can’t know where I’m going or know if I’m going over, it opens up everything and makes it a lot easier.”

Breckenkamp and the other players on the floor give Eaton the green light to send that second ball across and end the point herself.

“She’s phenomenal,” Breckenkamp said. “If we see it open, we’re like, ‘Hey Annie, go ahead, take it.’”

The Raiders (28-2) will host the QND Tournament on Friday and Saturday. They will play Decatur St. Teresa at 2:30 p.m. on Friday followed by matches with Hartsburg-Emden at 3:45 p.m. and Breese Mater Dei at 6:15 p.m. The Raiders will face Lincoln at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Eaton feels like the Raiders are in a great spot and the challenges they will face in this weekend’s tournament — particularly against Breese Mater Dei, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2A — will provide a measuring stick for QND as the postseason approaches. QND earned the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A Warsaw Regional and will face the winner between Monmouth-Roseville and Beardstown on Oct. 29 before a potential clash with Illini West in the regional final.

“We’re really prepared,” Eaton said. “Our tournament has some great teams, so no matter how that ends up, it will be great prep for us.”

The Blue Devils (22-11) travel to United Township for their final Western Big 6 Conference and regular-season match on Tuesday before facing Belleville East on Oct. 29 in the Collinsville Regional semifinals.

“A conference game is always a tough game,” Brown said. “All the teams are scrappy in a way that’s going to help us, especially if they’re throwing the tips our way. That’s something we really struggle with, so we have to be able to move and not be stuck on our feet. I’m hoping we can come out and find that strength in the beginning and find that mental game to push us through that game 2-0 hopefully so we can get a good rhythm going into the postseason.”