The St. Thomas Aquinas volleyball team stared down the barrel of elimination Saturday night, clawing back from a two-set deficit to stun No. 5 Trinity 3-2 in a Division III quarterfinal. Talk about refusing to let the season end, these Saints were pushed to the absolute brink and refused to fold.
Saints Pull Off the Impossible Comeback
It was a wild night, no doubt about it. The fourth-seeded Saints lost the opening two sets, 25-21 and 25-15. Most teams would buckle, right? Not St. Thomas. They dug deep, found another gear, and just started ripping. They took the third set 25-17, stayed alive with a nail-biting 25-22 victory in the fourth, and then absolutely closed it out with a decisive 15-9 win in the fifth set. Their coach, Kristie Holtz, absolutely nailed it when she said, “Tonight was a tough game. Trinity was relentless. We are so proud of our girls. We didn’t give up even after losing the first two sets.” That’s the heart you love to see in a squad! Hadley DeStefano was an absolute force, leading the Saints with a massive 17 kills and 18 digs. Jules Stowell was right there with her, dropping 10 kills, 15 digs, and an impressive 22 assists. This win sends St. Thomas to the Division III semifinals, and they earned every single point of it.
Portsmouth Christian Also Survives a Scare
Over in another Division III quarterfinal, the top-seeded Portsmouth Christian Academy (16-1) also had to fight tooth and nail for their 3-2 victory against No. 8 Inter-Lakes. They started hot, taking the first two sets 25-23 and a dominant 25-8. You’d think that would be enough, right? But Inter-Lakes wasn’t going anywhere, rallying hard to force a decisive fifth set after winning the third and fourth, 18-25 and 13-25. PCA kept their composure when it mattered most, winning the final set 15-11 to secure their spot. Molly Marquis was lights out, leading PCA with 13 kills, seven aces, and 13 digs. Dylan Anderson added another 13 kills and four blocks, while Bea Monahan contributed 10 kills, four aces, and 18 digs. Caroline Braman chipped in with eight kills, and Lexi Jordan ran the offense masterfully, dishing out 38 assists, plus two aces and 10 digs.
Both teams stared down adversity, and both came out on top. St. Thomas will now face that top-seed Portsmouth Christian Academy on Thursday in a semifinal game at Oyster River High School. Holtz put it best, “We are excited to keep the season going and focused on the next round.” You can bet Thursday’s semifinal is going to be an absolute battle, with both teams bringing serious momentum!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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