Bullettes Hold On For Win

No. 6 Mediapolis fights off Marquette to advance in Class 1A volleyball regional.

Melissa Jansson/The Hawk Eye
Mediapolis High School's Margaret Kuenzler (2) spikes between Marquette High School's Kim Sanders (6) and Karla Steffensmeier during the second game of Wednesday's Class 1A regional quarterfinal volleyball match.

MEDIAPOLIS — If the Mediapolis High School volleyball team thought Marquette would come into Wednesday night's Class 1A regional quarterfinal match and just roll over, the Bullettes thought wrong.

After being crushed by the Bullettes on their home court three weeks ago, Marquette aimed to show No. 6 Mediapolis what it was really made of.

Marquette did just that, pushing the high–powered Bullettes to the limit before Mediapolis prevailed, 15–13, 15–4, 15–13, at Vernon 'Bud' McLearn Court.

Mediapolis (29–4–5) advances to a regional semifinal to meet eighth–ranked Fort Madison Aquinas (34–2–2) at 7 p.m. Monday at Burlington High School's Carl Johannsen Gymnasium. Mediapolis swept the Lady Dons in the championship match of the SEI Superconference Tournament earlier this month.

Marquette, which won state championships in 1991 and 1996, ends its season with a 19–12–1 record.

"We were laid back a little bit," said Mediapolis senior setter Ashlei Jandrey. "When (Marquette) got into it I thought 'Oh, no.' Then we finally stepped it up."

"We knew they would be ready to play," said Mediapolis senior outside hitter Jo Kester. "We knew they would be after us. They played well. They gave us a good run."

"Marquette has a great tradition," Mediapolis coach Dennis Jandrey said. "Their kids came in sky high and ready to play. We knew they would."

Mediapolis looked like it would steamroll the Warriors once again. The Bullettes reeled off six unanswered points to start the match as the large and raucous Mediapolis crowd roared their approval.

But the Warriors had other ideas. Trailing 8–2, Marquette went on a 6–1 run. Kim Sanders keyed the rally with a spectacular diving dig from the back row which sailed across the net and found an open hole in the Mediapolis defense. An ace by Tara Kaltefleiter and a block by Karla Steffensmeier brought the Warriors within one point. Kaltefleiter added another ace as the Warriors pulled even at 9.

"We knew we had to play our game," Marquette coach Melissa Freesmeier said. "We got into a rhythm and focused on our side of the court and the kids did a nice job. We played with a lot of heart tonight."

Mediapolis won the next four points as Jandrey served up an ace, Kester came up with a pair of spikes and Ashlee Baker served an ace.

Once again, Marquette stormed back. An ace by Dana Gregory, back–to–back spikes by Gregory and Sanders and a Mediapolis hitting error evened the game at 13.

Baker came up big for the Bullettes, pounding down a spike before a Marquette hitting error ended the first game.

"We were down 6–0 and we never let up," Freesmeier said. "We pushed them as hard as we could. We didn't want to let up and lose the momentum."

Mediapolis once again raced to a 6–0 lead to start the second game. This time, Marquette battled, but could not close the deficit. The Bullettes scored seven points off Jandrey's serve, including the first five of the game. A spike by Krista Wirt and a Marquette hitting error gave Mediapolis the second game.

Marquette took its only lead of the match early in the third game. A cross–court spike by Kaci Stuekerjuergen, a tip by Kim Fedler and an ace by Kaltefleiter gave Marquette a quick 3–1 lead.

"We were hoping we wouldn't go to a fourth game," Ashlei Jandrey said. "We pulled through when we needed to and got our momentum back."

"They were digging up a lot of hard–hit balls and running a lot of good offense at us," Kester said. "We called a time out and tried to come back after that with the same enthusiasm we started with."

The Bullettes were not fazed. They scored four points off the serve of Jandrey to take a 5–3 lead.

Marquette responded. A dink and a spike by Fedler and a block by Steffensmeier knotted the game at 8.

Mediapolis reeled off four straight points on Jandrey's serve to take a 12–8 lead, only to see the Warriors come back again. A spike by Gregory and a diving dig by Marcy Thompson off a big spike by Brenna Nelson, which sailed over the net for a point, brought Marquette within 12–11.

Marquette got within 14–13 on an ace by Gregory and a block by Sanders before the Bullettes put the match away on a Nelson block.

"Our girls kept after them and never let up," Freesmeier said. "I am really proud of the way the girls played."

"It seemed like a lot of things worked for them tonight," Coach Jandrey said. "They had good passing and got the passes where they needed to be and ran some offense right back at us. They had us on our heels tonight.

"Marquette has a great tradition. Those kids showed a lot of guts out there. Give them credit."

Marquette (19–12–1)

Kills — Kaci Stuekerjuergen 13, Kim Fedler 11, Kim Sanders 5, Dana Gregory 5, Karla Steffensmeier 4, Marcy Thompson 1

Assists — Tara Kaltefleiter 33, Steffensmeier 2

Serving — Kaltefleiter 15–15 (3 aces), Gregory 14–14 (3 aces), Stuekerjuergen 9–9, Sanders 11–12, Thompson 10–11, Fedler 7–9

Blocks — Fedler 5, Sanders 3, Steffensmeier 3, Kaltefleiter 1, Gregory 1

Digs — Gregory 17, Stuekerjuergen 10, Sanders 6, Fedler 5, Steffensmeier 2

Mediapolis (29–4–5)

Kills — Jo Kester 13, Ashlee Baker 11, Margaret Kuenzler 7, Krista Wirt 6, Ashlei Jandrey 6, Brenna Nelson 5

Assists — Jandrey 37

Serving — Jandrey 25–25 (1 ace), Meta Kramer 11–11, Kester 11–11, Sarah Schulte 11–11 (1 ace), Laura Spanhut 8–8 (1 ace), Baker 16–17 (3 aces)

Blocks — Kester 10, Wirt 5, Nelson 5, Jandrey 5, Baker 1

Digs — Kuenzler 20, Baker 10, Kester 8, Kramer 7, Jandrey 5, Wirt 2, Schulte 1, Spanhut 1