Crusaders cut Conley's title run short

D.H. Conley's hopes of winning its third volleyball state championship were derailed by a team going for its 10th.

Cardinal Gibbons swept the Vikings in the 3-A Eastern Regional final Tuesday night, 25-20, 25-23, 25-10, in a matchup of teams who had combined to lose only three matches all season prior to the first serve.

But it didn't take long to figure out just how tough an opponent the visiting Crusaders were for the Vikings.

Cardinal Gibbons, which moved up to the 3-A ranks this season, scored the match's first nine points and never trailed in the opening game.

In fact, Conley (26-3) only led once during the entire match, when it scored the opening point of Game 2.

Despite seeing her team's season come to an end in a sweep, Vikings coach Jennifer Gillikin heaped praise on her club for forcing Cardinal Gibbons (23-1) to work for its berth in the state final on Saturday.

“I couldn't be any prouder,” said Gillikin, who will say farewell to nine seniors who played for this year's Conley team. “We went up against a giant tonight and it was a great battle.”

After fighting off a couple of DHC runs to win Game 1 by a 25-20 count, the Crusaders found themselves in a dogfight in the second set. Conley trailed 10-4 early on before the Vikings reeled off an 8-3 run to cut the lead to 13-12 on a Brandi Tanner kill.

Cardinal Gibbons eased out to a four-point lead — 20-16 — in the game's latter stage before DHC, which was playing in its fourth consecutive regional final, rallied again.

A Tanner kill, followed by a magnificent block by Kaitlyn Anderson and Heather Whitley, tied the match at 22-22. Madison Bugg's kill put Gibbons up 23-22 before the Vikings tied it again.

But Carolyn Albright's kill brought up game point for the Crusaders and Conley's Kirsten Burt had a kill attempt sail out of bounds to end the game, 25-23.

“(Conley's) great,” Cardinal Gibbons coach Jim Freeman said. “I've been watching them play for years. I knew exactly what kind of team they would have. They're just really tough to beat.”

While Freeman's team got all it could handle from the Vikings in the first two games, the Crusaders left no doubt about who would represent the East in the state final once the third game got under way.

Just like it did in the first set, Cardinal Gibbons scored nine unanswered points to start Game 3 and, unlike the first two games, Conley couldn't put a run together to keep it close. The Crusaders, who have nine state titles to their credit, including three straight from 2005-07, continued to build their lead until a Christina Dorismond kill ended the game and match, 25-10.

“Their front line averages, I don't know, 6-feet or so and we're playing with somebody up front on the right who's 5-4,” Gillikin said. “But it didn't matter about their size because our girls showed so much heart.

“I'm very proud of their effort and it's been a phenomenal season.”

Anderson turned in another solid all-around performance for Conley, finishing the match with 11 assists, 10 digs and five kills. Tanner led the Vikings with eight kills while Beth Jones tallied a team-high 13 digs.

Gibbons' Avery Striebel led all players with 14 kills while Bugg finished with 11 kills, 15 assists, eight digs and seven aces. Dorismond also had 11 kills for the Crusaders.

Contact Tony Castleberry at tcastleberry@reflector.com or (252) 329-9591.