Germann gets tenth Regional Championship as Steamers sweep Aurora Christian
Oct. 26—ASHTON, Ill. — Fulton head volleyball coach Stacy Germann notched her tenth Regional Championship with the Steamers on Thursday night as they swept the Aurora Christian Eagles.
"This one is a little bit different of a feeling. All of us kept thinking back to last year and we really wanted that one but this one is very much a 'let's keep moving forward' win. We've got some more goals," Head coach Stacy Germann said.
This one was a tight one yet the Steamers never crumbled. Staying cool headed and keeping their sights on the next point, Fulton battled throughout their two sets which was what they struggled with in this same exact spot a year ago against Newman Central Catholic.
"We prepared a lot for moments like this. We did drills that put them under pressure and put them in situations where when they made a mistake they had to turn around and move on," Germann said. "We did make some bad mistakes [tonight] but we still kept plugging away."
This year against the Eagles that intensity was felt from start to finish with set one getting off to a 7-7 tie. It was truly back and forth in the early going with neither side finding a sizable lead.
However, the Steamers found a little bit of space, going up 18-14 to force an Eagles timeout. Just like before though, the Eagles came right back on a 7-2 run to take the lead 21-20.
Fulton called timeout and quickly responded by scoring the final five points of the set to secure the victory 25-21.
Set two got off to a similar start as both sides kept it tight but the Steamers were able to take advantage of a lot of Eagles mistakes. This led to a 12-7 lead and the Eagles called time out trying to figure things out.
Fulton continued to play very clean volleyball as they grew that lead to 19-9. The Eagles did make a five point run but it was too little too late and the Steamers closed things out 25-17 to earn their title as Regional Champions.
It was a very balanced attack for the Steamers like it has been all year, this time with Annaka Hackett leading the way with six kills. Brooklyn Brennan had five, Ava Bowen had four and Miraya Pessman had three. Pessman led the team in assists with eight while Brennan had seven. Brennan had a team high nine digs while libero Resse Germann had seven.
"We're lucky. We've got a lot of players with around 150 kills. We have six hitters up there at all times which is what makes us strong. Our back row in Kali [Brewer] and Resse [Germann] do a great job as well," Germann said.
The Steamers (29-6) will play Lena-Winslow (36-2) in the Sectional semifinals on Monday night in Lanark, Illinois at Eastland high school.
