Wolfpack Down Bulldogs In Five-Set Thriller

Fans on both sides got all the excitement they wanted when Elgin Public/Pope John and Creighton clashed on Thursday night in the St. Boniface gym.

Both teams entered the night with just a single loss, but it was the Wolfpack keeping that intact during homecoming week with a five-set win 25-19, 25-17, 23-25, 23-16, 15-4.

After taking the first two sets in strong fashion, the Wolfpack allowed themselves to get a bit complacent in the third and fourth set, according to coach Tina Thiele-Blecher.

"I think we got a little lax. You know, its hard after you win those first two sets, especially when we haven't had any five-set games. You think 'Oh, we got this, no big deal. We beat em in those first two sets pretty easy.' We got out there and got lax and our passing goes down, our hitting goes down and it's just a roller coaster," said Thiele-Blecher.

In the fifth set, the Wolfpack locked down and finished the game with one of the most dominant sets of volleyball this season. In that set, and for most of the night, they were led by Grace Henn, who finished with an incredible 16 kills on the night.

Henn was far from the only Wolfpack lady to make an impact on the stat sheet, however. Paige Meis knocked down eight more kills, Lydia Behnk added seven and Kaylee Martinsen put down six.

EPPJ did plenty of scoring from the service stripe as well, with Allyson Wemhoff putting down four aces. Nicki Payne and Anna Heilhecker added two aces each and Meis and Haley Zegers each added one. Wemhoff and Payne were also vital to keeping the ball moving, recording 19 and 20 assists, respectively. 

Defensively, Martinsen was a wall with four blocks. Wemhoff, Heilhecker, Meis and Calli Krebs were all adept at keeping the ball alive, combining for 58 digs between the four.