OVERLAND PARK — On her birthday, St. Thomas Aquinas senior Grace Martin gave her team, and herself, the perfect gift — a league championship.
Martin led the Saints to a gritty four-set win over Blue Valley Southwest on Tuesday night, capping the victory with a big performance that sealed the Eastern Kansas League volleyball title and a night she won't soon forget.
"We have been looking forward to this game for a while now," Martin said. "They (Southwest) have incredible players and their block is really big. This whole week we have been working really hard on what is going to work for us, not only for this game, but for the rest of the season as well."
Martin and St. Thomas Aquinas traveled to Blue Valley Southwest last Tuesday as the top two teams in Class 5A squared off for the Eastern Kansas League title. In a battle of two of the state's best, the Saints won out.
No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas edged No. 2 Blue Valley Southwest 25-17, 17-25, 25-20 and 26-24 to earn the EKL crown. In a league that also features the No. 1 team in 6A — Blue Valley West — just winning the conference can be a bear.
"It means a lot," Aquinas coach Sarah Ikenberry said. "Honestly, it means you are beating the best teams in the state. The EKL, year in and year out, is the top league in the state. We haven't gotten it in a couple years, so it is definitely nice to win this one."
Aquinas senior Grace Martin recorded 27 kills in the Saints' road win at Blue Valley Southwest.
Martin, an Arizona State signee, turned in a strong performance for the Saints as she tallied a team-high 27 kills to lead the Saints attack at the net. Whenever, they needed a big point, they looked her way.
However, Martin doesn't see it that way. It is the team effort that has guided the Saints to the top of the league standings.
"I think we just trusted each other and we trusted our coaches," Martin said. "They put in a lot of work trying to help us with scouting and all that, but trust is really what helped us there at the end of that match. We all really trust each other and I think that is what set us apart.
"It is a representation of how hard we have worked. It also just goes back to working together as a team. It means a lot to us for sure and I am glad we were able to pull it out."
Not only did the match feature some of the best players in the state, it was also littered with future Division 1 players. Along with Martin, Blue Valley Southwest had three D-I players of their own in hitters Taylor Stanley (Kansas), Hailie Vaughn (Princeton) and Willow Weninger (Georgia Tech). Vaughn is also leading her team with a .390 hitting percentage.
Blue Valley Southwest's Hailie Vaughn goes up for a kill during the team's dual with Aquinas last Tuesday.
"I hate to think of a league that's tougher than ours top to bottom," Blue Valley Southwest coach Austin Isham said. "Every week you're going against nationally recognized individual talent, a defending state champ, state runner up, and/or perennial powerhouse. It's an honor to be a team that competes with the best weekly. I think it starts with really tremendous coaching at every school in the EKL."
After getting out to a rough start, the Timberwolves bounced back nicely with a 25-17 victory in the second set, before falling again in the third. They went point for point with the Saints in the fourth, but fell just short, 26-24.
"I was very proud of how they bounced back in the second set," Isham said. "I knew the first set had a lot of jitters and we were capable of much more. I love my team and love these girls. Every one of them is so special to me. They were so excited for this game and they played tough.
"The gym atmosphere was amazing that night. I give all the credit to the booster club leadership and administration that organized that night. I was grateful for the awesome fan support as well. It is a great place to play volleyball."
Aquinas, the defending state champion, knew it was in for challenge with Blue Valley Southwest and the Saints were able to hold off a tough Timberwolf attack.
"Offensively, they just don't stop and it just keeps coming," Ikenberry said. "They just have so many weapons and we knew that coming in. They are a great team and I expect to see them at the very end.
"Every year we try to play the best teams that we can. The goal every year is to win state, so we want to prepare ourselves as much as we can so we are prepared ourselves for the best at the end."
An end where these two teams could very well see each other again — with a state title on the line.
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