Experience helps Marquette hold off young Henry-Senachwine

VARNA – Based on their performances at the Tri-County Conference Volleyball Tournament, including Thursday’s championship match against Marquette, the future could very well belong to the up-and-coming Henry-Senachwine club.

But Thursday night and the crown belonged to the veteran Crusaders.

The No. 2-seeded Cru, boasting several players from the 2022 league tournament champs, used their big-stage experience to fight off almost every challenge offered by the event’s Cinderella, the No. 5-seeded Mallards, who hadn’t even been to the title match since head coach Rita Self reached it as a senior in 1990.

Behind seven kills by all-tournament selection Maera Jimenez and solid defense, Marquette built leads of as many as nine points, only to have the Mallards erase them – in the first set knotting the score at 20 and in the second at 16 – before the Crusaders’ poise led them back on their way to a 25-22, 25-19 victory.

The loss dropped Henry-Senachwine to 19-14 on the season, but Marquette coach Mindy McConnaughhay was impressed with how it gave her 23-5 club a run for its money.

“I watched Henry on Saturday and again against Seneca and thought, ‘Holy cow! They’re hot!’ ” McConnaughhay said. “You could see they had rhythm, were playing together and they were hyped up, so I told our girls this was not going to be a No. 2 vs. No. 5 seed kind of game. It’s going to be a tooth-and-nail battle and it was. … The future looked really bright for them because they’re young. They will be a menace in the Tri-County in the coming years.

“But tonight, we had that mental toughness, that composure, something we’ve struggled with all season. Hopefully, now we’ve turned a corner and will be more mature in our play because now we’re starting to gel as a team. We’re having fun and we’re in a much better flow.”

Typical of the night’s back-and-forth flow was the first set, when three points by Makayla Backos helped open a 6-2 MA edge. However, four straight from Brooklynn Thompson gave Henry a one-point lead.

The Cru enjoyed advantages of 12-7 and 18-9 before a sideout kill by Kaitlyn Anderson, four points from all-tourney pick Lauren Harbison and three from Anderson tied the score at 20.

That’s where kills by Jimenez and Anna Hjerpe and a tipping error put the Cru in control.

“We played as a team. We’re meshing together really well,” said Jimenez, who also had 10 assists and eight points, including the last three of the match. “We’re not uptight. We’re just relaxing and doing our jobs, what we’re supposed to do.”

Set 2 was a little more balanced, but after a kill by Anderson tied it at 16, slams by Backos and Jimenez and two youthful mistakes – a net violation and a rotation error – gave Marquette an insurmountable edge. Jimenez finished it with two aces followed by a kill by Avery Durdan.

The Cru’s Backos and twins Emma and Nora Rinearson each contributed seven digs, and all-tourney pick Mary Lechtenberg added two blocks.

For the Mallards, just getting healthy after losing libero Taylor Frawley and right side Harper Schrock to injury for good chunks of the schedule, Anderson and all-tourney choice Schrock each connected for seven kills, while Harbison chipped in three blocks.

Abbie Stanbary also was tabbed for the all-tournament team.

“Marquette just got on runs we didn’t have an answer for,” Self said. “We were better in the first set than the second, but we just couldn’t get the momentum to stay with us once we caught up.

“Hey, we got here. No one expected us to get here, but we made it there as a No. 5 seed and we’re young. I think this tournament has prepared us for the next couple of weeks leading to the postseason. … I feel that when our team is healthy, we can compete, like we did tonight.”