Girls Volleyball: Jess Schmidt stands tall, sends St. Francis past Joliet Catholic into Class 3A final

NORMAL – St. Francis senior middle hitter Jess Schmidt stood tall when it mattered the most on Friday afternoon.

But standing tall is nothing new for Schmidt.

At 6-foot-6, Schmidt is a towering presence on the court. She made her presence known throughout the Spartans’ Class 3A state semifinal match against Joliet Catholic.

The Bellarmine University recruit sparked the Spartans in a 7-0 run to close out the first-set victory by knocking down a kill without jumping while directly in front of the net, stretching her long arms high to tap the ball over for a key point.

“I’ve had probably more (kills) than my coach likes,” Schmidt said, laughing, of recording a kill at the net when not jumping.

The Spartans took advantage of their late first-set surge to run away with a 25-17, 25-22 victory over Joliet Catholic in the first 3A semifinal at Redbird Arena.

The Spartans (29-12) are set to make their first championship match appearance under seventh-year coach Lisa Ston. The Spartans haven’t won a state title since capturing the 4A state crown in legendary coach Peg Kopec’s final season in 2015 – the last year of an epic run of four straight state titles.

St. Francis seeks its 13th state title against defending champion Nazareth on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Ston said of making the title match. “To experience this with this group of girls is pretty special. I think it’s great. Peg always treated us like a total coaching staff. It’s amazing. I attribute this is my coaching staff and my girls. They have really put in the work every day in the gym. Our team chemistry has come a long way.”

St. Francis sophomore outside hitter Addy Horner showed her immense talent on the biggest stage. She sparked numerous rallies to record a match-high 13 kills to go with six assists and six digs. Anna Paquette added nine digs and KK Dumpit had 12 assists for the Spartans.

“We came together in the timeouts to bring the energy back,” Horner said. “We knew we had the skills to win it. We just had to have the energy and the grit to want it.”

In a matchup between two powerhouse programs, the Spartans seized control of the semifinal late in the first set. Junior libero Liv Basel played a key role in the set-turning run, helping the Spartans with her serving. She netted two aces in the 7-0 run, while Schmidt, Horner and Paquette all pounded down kills in the key spurt.

“It was definitely very nerve-racking when the other team has such great serve-receive the entire game,” Basel said. “I knew I could make my serves, so all I did was stay confident in myself and stuck to the basics.”

Joliet Catholic’s trek to the state tournament is unique due to its lack of superstar firepower and youthful roster, according to second-year coach LaKisha Cameron. The Angels (23-18), who have six sophomores and two juniors on their roster, showed some fortitude by battling back in the second set despite facing long odds.

The Spartans led 5-0, 10-2  and 13-3 in the second set before the Angels nearly mounted a comeback to nearly force a third set. Joliet Catholic senior libero Allie Wuestenfield’s strong serving combined with stellar play from Ava Neuschwander at the net lowered the deficit to 22-20 and 24-22.

St. Francis sophomore Emma Delaney, though, stopped the Angels’ run with a kill to close out the victory. Neuschwander, a Carthage College recruit, collected eight kills and four digs. Teammate Olivia Chovanec added six kills and six digs and Wuestenfield had 10 digs.

Neuschwander, a second-year varsity player, said she tried to will the Angels to a victory in the second set.

“I felt a wave come over me, that, ‘No, this isn’t happening’, and I wanted to do whatever I could for my team, to get points for my team and felt a sense of urgency,” Neuschwander said. “I had a lot of motivation knowing this is my second to last high school game. I tried to fight for my team, do whatever I could and contribute.”

Cameron said her players are excited for the opportunity to win Saturday’s third-place match.

“The team is better than they played today,” Cameron said. “This wasn’t the way they wanted this game to go. I’m hopeful they can recover from it. This game doesn’t define their season. They worked so hard to get better. I want them to feel better about the progress they made, so let’s do it tomorrow.”