The Ionia Girls JV Volleyball team ended their season today at the St. Louis Invitational.  The girls started out strong in pool play, going undefeated and earning themselves the number one seed in the tournament.  They pulled off wins against Carson City, 25-12, 25-12; Alma 27-26, 25-20; and Lakeview 25-20, 25-20.

The girls came out strong in the first round of tournament play defeating Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, 25-14, 25-15.  Their next opponent was their host, St. Louis.  They entered play against them with a few struggles and mental mistakes.  They dropped the first set 19-25 but came back in the second set winning 25-20.  The third set the girls were down, but pulled together as a team and won it with an exciting finish 15-13.  They entered the finals taking on a strong Saginaw Swan Valley team.  The girls were excited to play after their close win and came out swinging and won the first set 25-15.  The second set they again went down giving Swan Valley the lead.  The team picked each other up by never letting a ball drop without one of them going for it.  They worked their way back into the game and pulled out an exciting win 25-23.

As a team, the girls really pulled together and played amazing with several girls playing in different roles today. They all played awesome.  Paislie Patterson, Katie Leonard, Josie Lee and Hannah Shields played a great defense.  The team was led in serving by Ireland Brown (17 aces), Tessa Lemke (14 aces), Ebony Williams (13 aces), and Molly Waterman (11 aces). Waterman led the team with 21 kills, followed by Margie Pischea and Patterson with 9 kills, and Lemke and Kylie Leonard with 8 kills each. Williams did a great job in her role as setter and had great support from her whole team.

Congratulations to the team for capping off a great season with a championship win today!