By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Saturday was a long, but very productive day for the Seaman volleyball team.
The 21-1 Vikings, defending Class 5A state champion, dominated its Seaman Invitational with a perfect 6-0 record in the seven-school round-robin event while winning 12 straight sets and pushing their winning streak to 21 matches.
Seaman posed for a team picture after going 6-0 on the day to win the championship in Saturday's Seaman Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman opened its day with a 25-14, 25-19 win over Lansing before taking a 25-22, 25-14 win over city rival Hayden, a 25-10, 25-15 victory over Bishop Carroll, a 25-19, 25-18 win over Spring Hill, a 25-16, 25-19 triumph over Bishop Miege and a 25-14, 25-17 win over Maize South.
"I feel really good about today,'' Seaman coach Tatiana Dowling said. "I think that there's a lot of talented teams here and the girls really stepped up and played together and it was awesome to see. It was a lot of fun.
"I think that they're really playing their best volleyball together. I think that they love each other, which is a huge deal, and they respect each other and they want to play well for each other. A lot of these girls have been on varsity since their freshman year, so to see them get to have this type of success at the end of their Seaman careers I think is really cool.''
Seaman senior Ava Esser (21) celebrates a kill with her teammates during Saturday's Seaman Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Maegan Mills (23) was named the MVP of Saturday's Seaman Invitational volleyball tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Viking senior Maegan Mills was named the tournament most valuable player by virtue of receiving the most points in all-tournament balloting by opposing coaches while seniors Kinley Wilhelm, Campbell Chabot and Ava Esser received all-tournament honorable mention.
Hayden, the smallest school in the field, also had plenty to celebrate on Saturday, with the Wildcats finishing second in the tournament with a 5-1 record.
The Wildcats' lone loss came against champion Seaman and Hayden survived three three-set matches.
"Overall, I am so proud of our team because a lot of times in volleyball it's a game of momentum and we would call time out when we got down and say, 'Hey, it's heart right now and you either want it or you don't,' '' Hayden coach Corrinne McGreevy said. "And they would come out of that time out and they wanted it and they worked for it, they came together as a team and the momentum shifted and they just didn't give up on each other. It was awesome.''
Hayden, now 21-2 on the season, picked up its first win of the tournament over two-time defending 4A state champion Bishop Miege (25-22, 25-23) and the Wildcats also earned wins over Maize South (25-16, 25-18), Spring Hill (18-25, 25-21, 26-24), Lansing (25-27, 25-16, 27-25) and Bishop Carroll (17-25, 25-22, 25-14).
Hayden freshman Hailey Schmidtlein (right), an All-Tournament pick, is congratulated by her teammates after a kill in Saturday's Seaman Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden senior Reagan McGivern (4) earned All-Tournament recognition after helping the Wildcats post a 5-1 record in Saturday's Seaman Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden senior Reagan McGivern and freshman Hailey Schmidtlein were named to the all-tournament team and junior Ella Foster, senior Bella Reid and freshman Blakely Walter received honorable mention.
SEAMAN INVITATIONAL
Standings
Seaman 6-0 (champion), Hayden 5-1 (runnerup), Lansing 3-3, Bishop Miege 3-3, Bishop Carroll 2-4, Spring Hill 1-5, Maize South 1-5.
Match scores
Seaman def. Lansing, 25-14, 25-19; Hayden def. Bishop Miege, 25-22, 25-23; Spring Hill def. Maize South, 25-13, 25-16; Lansing def. Bishop Carroll, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22; Bishop Miege def. Maize South, 25-22, 22-25, 25-12; Seaman def. Hayden, 25-22, 25-14; Lansing def. Spring Hill, 17-25, 25-23, 25-22; Bishop Miege def. Bishop Carroll, 22-25, 25-15, 25-19; Hayden def. Maize South, 25-16, 25-18; Seaman def. Bishop Carroll, 25-10, 25-15; Hayden def. Spring Hill, 18-25, 25-21, 26-24; Lansing def. Bishop Miege, 17-25, 25-11, 25-23; Seaman def. Spring Hill, 25-19, 25-18; Hayden def. Lansing, 25-27, 25-16, 27-25; Bishop Carroll def. Maize South, 18-25, 25-20, 25-15; Seaman def. Bishop Miege, 25-16, 25-19; Maize South def. Lansing, 25-18, 21-25, 25-21; Bishop Carroll def. Spring Hill, 25-22, 25-18; Seaman def. Maize South, 25-14, 25-17; Hayden def. Bishop Carroll, 17-25, 25-22, 25-14; Bishop Miege def. Spring Hill, 20-25, 25-14, 25-20.
All-Tournament Team
Maegan Mills, Seaman (Most Valuable Player); Jillian Gregory, Maize South; Sydney Buscher, Spring Hill; Lauren Lopez, Bishop Miege; Reagan McGivern, Hayden; Trinniti Stevens, Bishop Miege; Halle Lainez, Lansing; Reese Daughtery, Bishop Carroll; Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden; Ally Orth, Bishop Carroll.
Honorable mention
Kinley Wilhelm, Seaman; Haedyn Lynnes, Spring Hill; Avery Sands, Lansing; Campbell Chabot, Seaman; Autumn Popp, Maize South; Olivia Stevens, Bishop Miege; Brooklyn Andrews, Lansing; Ava Esser, Seaman; Lauren DeGroot, Bishop Carroll; Aidee Davey, Maize South; Kinley Martin, Lansing; Ella Foster, Hayden; Bella Reid, Hayden; Blakeley Walter, Hayden.
