Advance volleyball wins first-ever state championship with sweep of Calvary Lutheran

The Advance volleyball team celebrates with their trophy after winning the Class 1 state championship game Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian

It was a combination that had worked all season, and with a state championship on the line, Advance volleyball turned to it once more.

Senior Addie Curtis set the ball, Roz Schrader jumped above the net and the Hornets bench rose to their feet in anticipation. Schrader smacked the ball off the outstretched fingers of the Calvary Lutheran block and onto the other side of the court.

When ball touched the hardwood, clinching a title, the celebration was on. The bench players rushed onto the court, and the Hornets formed a dog pile years in the making.

Advance's Roz Schrader spikes the ball during the Class 1 state championship game Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian

For the first time in school history, Advance is state champions in volleyball, capping off a 37-2-1 season with a 25-12, 25-23 win over Calvary Lutheran in the Class 1 state final on Saturday morning at the Show Me Center.

"They deserve it -- I don't want to say more than any other team because all teams deserve it -- but these girls have been through so much," Advance coach Erin Hoffman said. "They're so close. They're just a special group."

The Hornets ended the year on a 13-match winning streak and didn't drop a set during that run. That included a 4-0 record in the final four, with two wins over Calvary Lutheran (27-11-2) in as many days.

In the process, Curtis and libero Katlyn Cook capped off their high school careers with a title. They, along with the rest of the team, will now be immortalized on the Advance gym wall, in the form of a team picture and championship banner.

Advance's Nyah Wilson digs the ball during the Class 1 state championship game Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian

"It's just unbelievable to me," Curtis said. "It's still hasn't [sunk] in. Maybe when we get home and see our picture on the wall and the banner, maybe it will hit me then. But it still hasn't yet."

Curtis finished her senior campaign with over 700 assists, including 26 in the championship plus 16 digs. Schrader led the way with 23 kills on a .524 hitting percentage plus eight digs. Despite a mid-season injury, the junior ended the season with over 300 kills.

Nyah Wilson added five kills, eight digs and two blocks, and Alyssa Miles had three kills and 10 digs, including two crucial ones late in the second set. Meadow Morse chipped in three kills and five digs, and Alandry Below had seven digs.

Advance's Addie Curtis celebrates a point during the Class 1 state championship game Saturday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian

Friday afternoon, Advance swept Calvary Lutheran 25-17, 25-20. With both teams' spot in the championship secured, it served as a championship preview, though not one that Advance studied thoroughly.

"We actually didn't even watch video or anything because I knew with these girls I could scout all day and tell them we need to do this and we need to do this, and they just go out and they just play the game," Hoffman said.

The Hornets carried the momentum from that sweep into Saturday's championship, jumping out to a 13-3 lead in the first set behind five kills from Schrader.

The Lions didn't get closer than nine the rest of the way.

It was a much tighter affair in the second set with 10 lead changes. The biggest lead was three, with Calvary Lutheran up 21-18. That's when Hoffman called a timeout, and out of that stoppage Advance went on a 3-0 run to the game at 21-all.

"She just said that we could do it, and we weren't being us because we stomped them the first set," Schrader said. "Why are we playing like this? So we really stepped it up and started playing like we usually do."

The two teams traded points before Advance took the lead for good on an Schrader kill. That was all possible thanks to a Miles dig. It was the same formula on the next point with another Miles dig leading to an Schrader kill and a 24-22 Advance lead.

Calvary Lutheran saved the first match point, but at 24-23, Curtis set up Schrader for the championship-clinching kill, setting off the celebration.

"Oh my gosh, my mind just went blank," Schrader said. "I didn't know what to say. It's just so crazy, just being here and winning it is just wonderful."

Coming into this season, Advance's last final four appearance had been 35 years ago. Its last two campaigns had ended with losses at the state sectional round.

These Hornets changed all that. Their reward: a state championship.

"Like I said before, these girls they continue to amaze," Hoffman said. "I'm truly just their guide, and they take what I say and they run with it. They're just an amazing group of girls, a very special group of girls."