Springville’s Kennady Breitfelder ‘just went off’ in Tri-Rivers volleyball tournament final

WHEATLAND — That’s Kennady, with an “A.”

As in “A game,” and she brought it.

Kennady Breitfelder “just went off,” in the words of teammate Nia Howard, knocking down 12 kills as Class 1A third-ranked Springville topped No. 4 Lisbon in the championship match of Saturday’s Tri-Rivers Conference volleyball tournament, 25-21, 25-15, at the Calamus-Wheatland Activity Center.

“They couldn’t stop her,” Howard said. “They would think we would go to our middles, and she would just kill it.”

Springville (30-4) trailed for the majority of the first set, by as many as five points. But the Orioles battled back to tie six times, then Breitfelder’s block put them in front for the first time, 21-20.

It was part of a 6-1 run to close the set, then the Orioles captured Game 2 handily.

“I have total trust in my team,” Breitfelder said. “We’ve been down before, and we know how to get back up.

“That was the best competition we had. We knew it would be Lisbon or Starmont (in the final), and they’re both tough.”

The Orioles were tougher. And now, with the postseason up next, Breitfelder said, “We’re right where we want to be, doing what we want to do.”

Springville won its first two matches convincingly, handling Cedar Valley Christian in the quarterfinals, 25-6, 25-13, then sweeping Central City in the semifinals, 25-9, 25-11.

Lisbon (34-6) advanced with wins over East Buchanan (25-21, 25-13) and Starmont (27-25, 25-21).

Ella Clark made most of the pivotal plays down the stretch against the Stars. She collected four kills and a block as Lisbon polished off the second set with a 7-2 run.

Lisbon faced set point in Game 1 at 24-23, but Ava Czarnecki’s kill tied it at 24, then Peyton Robinson had kills for the final three points.

The Lions led the championship-match opener 4-0, then 9-5, then 13-8. But as Howard said, Breitfelder “just went off,” and the match flipped Springville’s way for good.

“This feels really good,” Howard said. “Last year, it didn’t go our way. And we had that in our mind. We knew we could do it.”

Starmont (18-9) advanced to the semifinals with a 25-13, 25-14 first-round win over Clinton Prince of Peace; Central City (18-13) made it to the final four by defeating Easton Valley, 25-20, 25-18.

TRI-RIVERS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

At Wheatland

Quarterfinals

Lisbon def. East Buchanan, 25-21, 25-13

Starmont def. Clinton Prince of Peace, 25-13, 25-14

Central City def. Easton Valley, 25-20, 25-18

Springville def. Cedar Valley Christian, 25-6, 25-13

Consolation

East Buchanan def. Clinton Prince of Peace, 21-19, 21-16

Easton Valley def. Cedar Valley Christian, 18-21, 22-20, 15-4

Semifinals

Lisbon def. Starmont, 27-25, 25-21

Springville def. Central City, 25-9, 25-11

Championship

Springville def. Lisbon, 25-21, 25-15

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com