Girls volleyball: Horner leads St. Francis to hard-fought 3A semifinal win
NORMAL - Late in the first set, St. Francis found itself in a precarious situation against downstate Morton on Friday night.
The Spartans has a simple solution to fix their problem - get the ball to star junior Addy Horner.
And the Wisconsin recruit cured the Spartans' woes with her pair of powerful kills to secure the first-set victory, helping her team notch a hard-fought 26-24, 29-27 victory over Morton in a Class 3A state semifinal volleyball match at CEFCU Arena.
When asked if she wanted the ball at the end of the first set, Horner cracked a big smile on the postgame podium and stated, "Oh yeah, all the time."
The Spartans (33-8) extended their streak to 12 victories in a row, advancing to Saturday's 5:30 p.m. championship match against Lincoln. St. Francis, coached by Lisa Ston, are one victory away from the program's second straight state championship and 14th overall.
Horner paced the Spartans with 12 kills to go with 13 assists and two aces, while KK Dumpit added 20 assists and Catherine D'Orazio finished with 17 digs and Liv Basel collected 13 digs. Anna Paquette and Shay McMillen both had eight kills.
"This is a dream come true for most high school teams, to get downstate," Ston said.
In the first set, Morton led for most of the opener thanks to a solid defense, not allowing the Spartans to build any momentum. After the Potters seized a 24-23 lead, the 6-foot-2 Horner jumped into act with two straight kills to give her team a 25-24 lead. The Spartans closed out the first set via net violation on the Potters.
Horner, who entered the state semifinal with a team-high 242 kills, was the X-factor in the game.
"She's a really good hitter and found holes in our block and defense," Morton senior outside hitter Grace Junis. "She was a good three inches than the rest of us, but even sometimes she was hitting over our block but kudos to her."
Horner also pounded down a crucial key late in the second set, handing the Spartans just enough of a cushion at 27-26 that allowed them to pull away. The Potters (31-8) made their first state trip since 2006, falling victim to a few questionable calls late in both sets.
Still, the Spartans' illustrious state history and deep collection of talented players were unfazed by any deficit or the large contingent of red-clad Morton fans. The Potters, a tough and disciplined team, pushed the Spartans in both sets, but made 13 hitting errors and struggled matchup with Horner.
"I thought it came down to blocking and defense," Morton coach Jordan Williams said. "We were held below our hitting percentage. (The match) could've gone either way. I'm proud of my girls."
The two sets were certainly very close, just like Williams noted. The Spartans managed to pull away each set due to key kills by Horner and solid defense.