Sailors strike from all angles to beat Perkins

PERKINS TWP. — Vermilion got some tournament payback against Perkins on Thursday. The sixth-seeded Sailors defeated the fourth-seeded Pirates in four sets — 25-23, 18-25, 25-18, 25-20 — in a Division IV sectional final. A year ago, Perkins ended Vermilion's season in four sets in the same round at Lake High School. "This is a big win because we had a rough start to the season," Vermilion middle hitter Emma Gebhardt said. "This shows that we can beat anyone if we put our minds to it." The Sailors were 2-6 out of the gate, but have now won five of their last six. "We were in a similar situation last year against Perkins and came up short, so this was a great win, knowing they could do it," Vermilion coach Sawyer Schafer said. Gebhardt led the Sailors (10-13) with 13 kills and three blocks. She ended the match when she found a hole in the Perkins defense. "Honestly, I kind of just threw it down," she said. "I knew their open spot was in the middle. When they're out of system their middle is wide open." Gebhardt scored with both hands, too, mixing in an effective left-handed tip at the net. "I would consider her a true middle," Schafer said. "She knows exactly where that ball needs to go. She does such a great job coming off that net and knowing where she needs to be at all times. We depend on that." Gebhardt was one of several hitters who stood out for the Sailors. Lauren Logsdon had 10 kills from different angles, Elizabeth Okasinski had eight and Sophie Habermehl and Faith Sergent each finished with seven. "We have a lot of hitters who can take their turn up there," Schafer said. "We have quite a few girls who can play pretty much any position in the front row and they did well adjusting to any changes we might have needed." Vermilion went on a 10-1 run to end the fourth and final set. The Sailors scored in a variety of ways, including a tip and kill from Okasinski, a push to an open spot by Logsdon and a couple Gebhardt kills. "It's a big strength because you can mix it up," Gebhardt said. "If we're in system you can set middles, outsides, anyone and they can put it away." Vermilion advances to play top-seeded Lake in a district semifinal next Tuesday at Old Fort. "That's the first tournament win the seniors (Logsdon, Okasinski and Delaney Russell) have gotten on the varsity," Schafer said. "They earned it." Perkins finished the season with a 12-11 record. The Pirates lost to the Sailors in five sets a month ago in Vermilion. "Ideally on paper we should've won, but Vermilion came out very loose, relaxed, excited," Perkins coach Brandon Duvall said. "Sawyer's done a phenomenal job with his team to get them prepared. They've obviously improved as the year went on. "I take full responsibility because I didn't feel like my team played comfortably and didn't have a lot of confidence. I'm not sure why. As a coach, I have to explore what we're doing to get them in that situation. "We were playing some pretty good volleyball coming into the playoffs. The up-and-down nature of our program this year came back to bite us." Senior middle Micah Slay ended her career with a great performance. She had 19 kills, including eight in the Pirates' easy win in the second set. "She's great. We're gonna miss her," Duvall said. "She was playing to the point where we thought she'd have a career day. She'll be great continuing to do whatever she does." Senior middle Ferrell Coleman added 11 kills and senior Avery Maldonado had 19 digs and six aces. Braelyn Davie finished with 40 assists. Perkins led 13-6 in the first set before Vermilion rallied to take a 1-0 lead. After Slay dominated the second set, the Sailors jumped out to a quick lead in the pivotal third set and cruised to a seven-point win. Gebhardt's lefty tip gave Vermilion a 21-20 lead in the fourth and final set. Elyse Myntti had 20 assists for Vermilion and Logsdon added 15 assists and 15 digs.