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OKAWVILLE - A stout opponent proved to be too much for the Father McGivney Griffins.
Father McGivney succumbed to a 25-19, 25-16 loss to the Grayville Bison in the Class 1A Okawville Super-Sectionals on Friday night. Father McGivney’s historic season comes to an end at 25-13.
"We did our best, but give it up to Grayville for their great teamwork and their ability,” Father McGivney head coach Amanda Pirih said. “It just didn't go our way,” It was a heck of a season. I can't even be upset for the loss."
Grayville, who has an official enrollment of 86 will play in the semifinals against Newark on Friday, Nov 9 at 9 a.m. at Redbird Arena on the campus of Illinois State University.
Bison head coach Alyssa Schroeder, who is a 2009 graduate of Grayville couldn’t be happier for her players and the community.
“Being an alumnus I know how important it is for our town. We’re one of the smallest schools in 1A,” Schroeder said. Those girls worked so hard, and they really deserve this.”
Due to an apparent late bus arrival at Father McGivney High School, the Griffins entered the gymnasium nine minutes before the original scheduled 6 p.m. start time. At 5:58 they warmed up, which pushed the first point of the match back to 6:24.
Pirih insisted the late start didn’t affect her players negatively.
"We took our time getting onto the court and warming up. It was all OK from there,” Pirhi said. I think they got in a groove, but the Grayville team had some awesome competition that they put up for us. The officials have been really understanding. We were totally fine."
Both teams started out trading points, but the Bison roared out to a 20-12 lead. However, the Griffins claimed six unanswered points to close the gap to 20-18. Ultimately, Grayville won the last three points and claimed game one 25-19.
Perhaps the biggest difference maker in the match was powerful Grayville junior outside-hitter, Sidney Foster. She finished with seven kills and six aces, which included three straight aces in set number two.
“She wants to play at the next level, and she’s a hard worker. [The D1 coaches] always say our standards are really high, but we’re always looking for those diamonds. I’m telling you she is a diamond.”
In the second set, the Bison had less trouble and led the entire way, which included a 14-6 lead.
"They did an awesome job," Pirih said of her players. "To have come this far, they gave everything they've got. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. But I'm so proud of them."
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