The Remsen St. Mary’s volleyball team won their postseason rubber match with Gehlen Catholic sweeping the Jays in three sets in the regional quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
The Hawks and Jays have not had much in the way of exciting history in the postseason. In recent memory, Gehlen Catholic makes quick work of the Hawks to move on towards another trip to state. This year is a great change of pace for Remsen St. Mary’s head coach Stacy Bunkers who says the Hawks did a lot of things right to get the win.
Gehlen Catholic did not do as many things right throughout the night. The Jays had 28 attacking errors to 29 kills on a rough night offensively. Gehlen Catholic head coach Dan Goebel says the Jays were too timid at times on offense.
The Hawks lost to Gehlen Catholic in conference play three weeks prior to beating them in the postseason. That was enough time for Coach Bunkers and crew to change their defensive approach knowing a rematch was likely in the cards.
Coach Goebel says Remsen St. Mary’s approach to the game was better than the Jays. He says the Hawks showed more desire to win with how they played.
Things were not easy at times for the Hawks. Remsen St. Mary’s started off the third set with a rough patch allowing six straight Gehlen Catholic points. Coach Bunkers called a timeout and just needed to get things worked out with their first touch, and it worked.
Gehlen Catholic ended their season with a record of 13-14 and missing out on the state tournament for the second consecutive season. Coach Goebel says this team grew really close as the season progressed even if they were not always winning.
The Jays will graduate four seniors who had an impact everywhere on the court. Coach Goebel says they had to work to get on the court, and now it is time for others to put in the work to try replacing them.
Meanwhile, Remsen St. Mary’s is moving on to the regional semifinals after picking up 20 wins in a season for the second year in a row. The Hawks face off with Newell-Fonda at home on Monday night to continue the postseason. Coach Bunkers says preparation will not change, and the Hawks are focused on fundamentals to be successful.
Remsen St. Mary’s and Newell-Fonda face off at 7:00 PM on Monday night in Remsen.
