Raiders use every ounce of energy necessary to rally past Warriors in sectional semifinals

RIVERTON, Ill. — Eva Breckenkamp was running on fumes, but she used what little fuel she had left in the tank to send the Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team to the Class 2A Riverton Sectional title match.

The Raiders trailed Athens 25-24 in the third and deciding set in Tuesday’s semifinal at the Hawk Center before Breckenkamp delivered three consecutive kills to help the Raiders complete an 18-25, 25-12, 27-25 comeback.

“I’m still huffing and puffing,” Breckenkamp said. “I was like, ‘OK, where’s my water?’”

The final of Breckenkamp’s 16 kills clipped off the top of the Warriors’ block and fell to the floor, sending the Raiders and their fans into a state of euphoria.

“It was crazy,” junior outside hitter Tristan Pieper said. “I knew that we could get it, but it was so much weight off our chest when it went to the ground because it was going back and forth. It was like, ‘Whew, we did it. We can move on.’”

A final set filled with twists and turns and momentum changes abound did not allow Raiders coach Danielle White to relax for a second.

“It was terribly nerve-wracking,” White said.

The Warriors rattled off six of the first seven points of that set before White called a timeout. A 5-0 Raiders run ensued, and neither team led by more than three points the rest of the way.

The Raiders pulled within one point six times before finally tying the set at 15 on a Kourtney Keck ace followed by a Lauren Hummel kill on a tip shot to give the Raiders their first lead of the set.

“When we finally got on top, you saw their confidence boost a little bit,” White said.

That lead was short-lived. Karsyn Jacoby gave the Warriors the lead back at 17-16 with a kill through the Raiders’ block.

The Warriors scored two consecutive points after a timeout at 19-19, but Nora Wiley brought the Raiders within one with a kill and Breckenkamp blocked Addie Stadsholt’s swing to bring the score level at 21.

The set was tied at 22, 23, and 24 before the Raiders couldn’t get the ball back over the net to give the Warriors match point at 25-24. Breckenkamp put home her next swing to keep the Raiders’ hopes alive, and her final two kills sent QND through to face Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“She knew it was her night,” White said. “I kept telling Annie, ‘Get the ball to Eva, get the ball to Eva.’ She’s so smart and she knew we needed her tonight. Even though she was tired, she pushed through and finished it for us.”

Breckenkamp had the hot hand, and White’s confidence in Breckenkamp was obvious.

“As long as our coach knows what we can do, she trusts us,” Breckenkamp said. “She knows what we can do best, and if she tells us to do something, I’m going to do it, and we took care of it.”

Breckankamp’s ability to harness the energy of the moment and put her power and skill on display in the process continues to impress White.

“It just shows how mentally tough she is and also how she’s not phased by her opponents,” White said. “She’s able to say, ‘You may do this, but I’m going to come back and do better.’ That was her mentality tonight. ‘I’m not letting you get anything on me, and I’m going to come back at you if you do.’”

Wiley nearly ended the match when her swing sailed just long, tying the set at 24.

“I was praying,” Wiley said. “Immediately I was praying.”

Wiley could breathe easier once Breckenkamp’s match-deciding kill found the hardwood.

“We did it,” Wiley said. “All I could think was we got through it.”

Pieper said the Raiders’ mental fortitude made the difference in the second and third sets after the Warriors blitzed QND in the first.

“We have a lot of belief,” Pieper said. “We know we are a good team and can beat anyone. We have energy and we’re aggressive. It was nerve-wracking, but we stayed composed throughout the entire game even though sometimes it didn’t seem like it. When it counted, we did, and it paid off.”

A raucous crowd provided an atmosphere that White relishes.

“It’s fun when you try to coach and your kids can’t hear you,” White said. “I’m like, ‘Hey! Hey!’ That’s part of coaching. I love being in gyms where I have to get their attention because it’s so loud in here.”

A postseason victory in such dramatic fashion and the celebration that followed made all the shouting worth it.