‘This is only the beginning’: Lady Suns Classic title start of something special for Southeastern

AUGUSTA, Ill. — Amanda Stephens knows the Southeastern volleyball team has bigger fish to fry, but that doesn’t diminish the excitement of winning a tournament on their home floor.

“This is only the beginning,” Stephens said.

Southeastern went 5-0 and didn’t lose a set en route to a Lady Suns Classic title. The Suns swept Illini West and Rushville-Industry in championship pool play on Saturday to clinch the crown.

“These are teams you’re going to be playing all year long,” Southeastern coach Tim Kerr said. “That’s one of the things we like about the tournament is being able to see where you are. There’s definitely a measuring stick aspect of this tournament. Being able to come out on top is a great thing for us, and hopefully we can build on that and string together a bunch of wins.”

Kerr said Southeastern’s 25-18, 25-23 victory over Illini West was a necessary challenge for the Suns if they want to achieve their goals once the postseason rolls around.

“That’s a great match for us,” Kerr said. “They’re still really good, so being able to get past them in a really hard fought match was good for us. I told the girls if we’re going to have a great season, we’re going to have to win some close games like that.”

This match was an Anna Jacob fingertip away from possibly going to a deciding third set. With Illini West leading 21-19 in the second set, the Chargers outside hitter’s swing went straight into the Suns’ block and deflected back toward her. The ball was headed out, but Jacob couldn’t get her hands out of the way in time. The ball grazed her fingertips, cut the Suns’ deficit to 21-20 and the set slipped away from the Chargers.

“Volleyball is such a weird sport. You win a game 25-21, and everybody thinks that’s four points. That’s two balls, it’s 23-23 and you’re still playing,” Kerr said. “It’s definitely one of those ebbs and flows where you have to overcome things if they don’t go your way and catch as many breaks as possible. We got just enough breaks in that one to be successful.”

The Suns jumped out to big leads in their other three sets played Saturday — as was the case in their 25-11, 25-18 win over Rushville-Industry — and Stephens emphasized that fast starts are a recipe for capturing the ever-important momentum.

“Volleyball is such a game of momentum,” Stephens said. “When your team has the momentum, you have to take advantage of that, and we did.”

Amanda Stephens and her younger sister, Kara, provided the Suns with plenty of offensive firepower. Amanda had 21 combined kills and 13 assists in the two wins on Saturday, en route to earning tournament MVP. Kara had 14 kills and 27 assists in those two matches and was named to the all-tournament team.

“Coming into this year, everybody knew Kara and Amanda Stephens, and they performed like we hoped they would,” Kerr said. “Sometimes there’s a lot of hype and it’s hard to back it up, but they definitely backed it up this week. It’s nice for them to get honored for that.”

Kerr has also been impressed with Kenzie Griswold’s progression and is excited about what the future holds for her. Griswold led the Suns with nine digs and matched Kara Stephens with six kills against Illini West, and she aslo racked up six kills against Rushville-Industry.

“On a lot of teams, Kenzie might be the No. 1. She’s really a good player,” Kerr said. “She’s come into her own the last couple years, and hopefully things keep getting bigger and better for her. The timing with the two setters will continue to get better for the remainder of the year, and hopefully she can continue to dominate.”

Illini West defeated Rushville-Industry 25-17, 25-9 to capture second place.