E-P’s best volleyball season a co-op ends in Sweet 16

MANLIUS — Its first ever regional title as a co-op. A trip to the Sweet 16. A 10-0 conference run en route to a Three Rivers West title and a program-record 32 wins.

It was a season to remember for the Erie-Prophetstown Panthers.

The impressive run ended on Thursday night as E-P fell 25-22, 25-16 to El Paso-Gridley in the Class 2A Bureau Valley Sectional title game. It was a matchup of two teams playing for their first sectional titles.

The Titans (30-7) were just the better team on Thursday night.

“I think we started out a little slow in both games there but picked it up towards the end,” E-P coach Heather Bruns said. “They’re a great team. They’ve got hitters all the way around. It’s like they don’t have a hole in their offense, so that makes it hard as a team defending them to know where to go, where to block. They also don’t really have a hole in their defense.

“But I thought the girls fought really well and it was fun to be here. I really think the nerves got to them at this point.”

The Titans advance to Monday’s Seneca supersectional at 6 p.m. against Chicago Christian.

E-P (32-4-2) trailed the opening set 20-13 before Bruns took timeout and reminded the team to play like it wanted it more.

They responded well, battling to a 22-20 deficit. But the Titans had an answer as they felt in control for most of the evening. The Panthers carried on momentum to the second set, leading 4-1, but the Titans again regained control did not surrender a lead after going up 6-5.

“I want to give them credit, they came out, they were ready to go,” Lauren Abbott said of the Titans. “They had some huge blocks and great defense too.”

Sophomore Jaida Reed had five aces for the Titans; senior Reese Deckard had eight kills and two blocks and Taylor Langland had 12 assists.

“That serve-receive was uncharacteristic for us,” Bruns said. “We fought, did what we needed to do and we just came up short tonight.”

Kaylee Keegan had two aces, 19 assists and seven digs for E-P and Abbott, a fellow junior, led the team with 11 kills and had an ace with two blocks.

Senior Jamie Neumiller had three kills and seven digs and junior Eden Jensen had three blocks.

Jensen said this season has showed the team is capable of more than it may have first imagined.

“I feel like we pushed really hard and I’m really proud of us, because we had a great season this year,” Jensen said. “I’m really proud of our seniors. They’ve done super, super well, even in practice and on the court.”

“I feel like our team at the beginning of the season, we really didn’t see it,” said Umstead. “But now we’re here. Even though it ended sooner than we wanted, we’re still so proud of ourselves for getting here. It was amazing to be a part of. I just hope the best for the juniors next year and hope they can carry that on.”

Despite the loss, E-P had great fan support as Thursday’s crowd was full of red and felt like a home game at times. Bruns said the middle school basketball team postponed a game and other teams had practice off to come support the Panthers.

“Our community is amazing,” said Bruns. “At the end of the game, I told them to just look [at the crowd].”

This year’s E-P team has raised the bar for the future. Bruns credited the five seniors for what they have provided this season.

She said Neumiller, a three-year varsity player, provided leadership physically and vocally. Kallie Wiseley helped provide relief and support for the team when it was needed. Umstead was a role model and provided a calm presence. And Allie Russell and Mia Weidel were reliable off the bench.

“It’ll be tough losing those five and trying to find a way to replace them, but you know, we’re thankful for where they led us,” said Bruns. “I said, ‘you opened a door and got us here, so let’s keep building on the it year after year.

“I just think their drive, their desire, their want to be here and their cohesiveness as a team has really brought them this far.”

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Erie-Prophetstown reacts to losing in straight sets to El Paso-Gridley Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, during the class 2A volleyball sectional championship at Bureau Valley High School. (Alex T. Paschal)