Orioles shake, 'Wobble' and roll

 SPRINGVILLE -- The Springville Orioles were "wobbly." But only until the match started.

In a match that, in terms of history and rankings, figured to be a white-knuckle marathon, 11th-ranked Springville instead danced past No. 12 Lisbon, 23-25, 25-15, 25-13, 25-15, in a Class 1A regional quarterfinal volleyball match Tuesday night at Springville High School.

"We knew we could beat them," said Orioles setter Sidney Hopkins. "We had a game plan, but we didn't use it very well in the first game."

But once the Orioles (28-10) figured it out, there was no stopping them.

As a result, they advance to Friday's regional semifinal opposite Bellevue Marquette (15-14) at Wyoming, Iowa. The Mohawks swept Easton Valley on Tuesday.

This was the fourth match of the season between these new Tri-Rivers Conference West Division rivals. The first three (two of which had been won by Springville) were tight.

Not this time. After letting a back-and-forth first set get away, the Orioles kept Lisbon (25-8) on its heels and out of rhythm.

"We didn't execute very well in the first game; we missed four serves," said first-year Springville head coach Claude Howard, who had served as an assistant for six years before being elevated before this season. "That second game, we started serving really well."

The Orioles delivered 11 aces, four by Leanna Mysak.

None of the last three games were close. Springville started the second set with a 14-3 haymaker, and was off to the races for the rest of the night.

"It's frustrating, and it's disappointing," said Lisbon Coach Lance Kamaus. "If I felt that we did the best we could do, I'd be fine. If we'd have played our best, I'd have liked our chances. That's what's disappointing to the kids."

The Orioles were a loosy-goosy bunch well before the first serve. They were on the floor at 6 p.m., an hour before the match, dancing and singing and clapping.

"It's called The Wobble," said Hopkins, who distributed 40 assists. "It's our ritual."

Megan Wagaman swatted 15 kills and five blocks for the winners, Tracy Kilburg added 14.

Paige Felderman posted 11 kills for the Lions.

The first set featured 11 ties, the last at 22-all. But the Orioles made some errors at the end, and Lisbon capitalized.

But the momentum was short-lived.

"Losing the first game, it really motivated us for the rest of the match," Kilburg said.

After running through Game 2, the Orioles took control of the third set with an 11-2 midgame run that staked them to a 18-10 lead, and it never got closer than seven points again.

Springville scored eight of the first nine points in the fourth set, and that was that.

The scene was crowded and loud, and the Orioles were ready.

"In practice, we hooked up the speakers to crowd noise, because we knew it was going to be loud," Hopkins said. 

SPRINGVILLE 3, LISBON 1

Game

1

2

3

4

 

Lisbon (25-8)

25

15

13

15

 

Springville (28-10)

23

25

25

25

 

 Serving: Lisbon 65-68 (.956), Springville 91-98 (.929)

Aces: Lisbon 4 (Danielle Heiken, McKenna Kilburg 2), Springville 11 (Leanna Mysak 4)

Kills: Lisbon 39 (Paige Felderman 11), Springville 48 (Megan Wagaman 15)

Assists: Lisbon 31 (Katie Montgomery 21), Springville 45 (Sidney Hopkins 40)

Blocks: Lisbon 3 (three with 1), Springville 10 (Wagaman 5)