EP dispatched the host team on Tuesday night in straight sets to earn their way to the championship with the Lady Rams sweeping Stillman Valley in their semifinal.
Riverdale won their Regional in straight sets over EP last season going on to finish third at the IHSA State Finals.
The #3 seed Lady Panthers came out on fire in the first set as they could do no wrong jumping out to an 8-1 lead with Byron finally asking for a pause trailing 10-2. The timeout flipped a switch for the Lady Tigers (15-12-2) as the 6th seed returned the favor to EP reeling off a 7-0 run on the strength of the serving of Hannah Gentz.
Alaina Frank finally broke the streak hammering home a point to make it 11-9. The set would be tight the rest of the way as neither team could gain more than a 2-point advantage, Byron took a 16-14 lead with EP coach Rachel Bramm asking for time. A kill shot by Frank gave EP a 22-20 advantage, but Byron responded with back-to-back points to tie the set. A slam by Frank put the Lady Panthers at set point 24-23 but they could not close. Byron had a chance for win, up 25-24 but a nice drop shot by Zoey Stuart kept EP alive. Ella Brooks finally got the win for the black and red as she dropped a serve in the middle of the Byron defense for the 27-25 win.
The second set started much differently than the first as the teams traded points to arrive at a 7-7 tie. At that point EP began to take over with some outstanding digs and play at the net, to build a 14-9 lead with the Lady Tigers taking a timeout. The break did little to break the Lady Panther momentum as they grew their lead to 17-11. An ace by Lia Milem gave EP a 20-14 advantage with several players including Zoey Stuart and Ava Johnson contributing down the stretch to build the lead. Kayler Pritchard hammered home the winning point, for a 25-18 win.
Frank and Johnson each had 10 kills for EP with Pritchard adding 7 as well as 3 blocks. Wynn Renkes had 9 digs with Emma Anderson adding 8. Lia Milem handed out 27 assists.
“It was a hot start and a hot finish to the night,” commented EP coach Rachel Bramm. “The girls did a great job tonight executing the game plan that we had devised and practiced earlier this week. I couldn’t be prouder of their efforts tonight, as it will undoubtedly provide momentum into our next contest.”
With the win EP improves to 20-9-2. Earlier this season the lady Rams defeated EP in straight sets in Port Byron. The Rams will come in with a 22-10 mark.
“We get the rematch that we’ve been wanting all season and a shot at redemption from Regionals last year,” added the coach. “It’s a long-running, deep-seated rivalry that creates some of the most competitive play that we have all season long. We’re looking forward to the challenge and hope to come out victorious by the time Thursday night is over.”
Game time is set for 6PM Thursday.
