Western Boone Jr. - Sr. High School

If they wanted to accomplish their goal of making it to the State Finals, the Western Boone volleyball team was going to have to dig deep. And while they were pushed to their absolute max in two grueling matches on Saturday at the Delta Semi-State, the Stars did what they needed to do and are heading to the State Finals next Saturday afternoon at Ball State. "It hasn't really sunk in yet that next week we have one more game to finish this season off," senior Raegan Durbin said. "It's just crazy. It was a very long day, but a successful day." Calling the day long is just the tip of the iceberg for the Stars. In the span of nine hours, Western Boone played eight sets - five of them going past the 25th-point plateau. They played points with their season on the line, and after playing in the second of the two semi-finals, had less turnaround time compared to their semi-state finals opponents. Head coach Laura Bragg said that the Stars were prepared for days like Saturday. "The preparation didn't just start a week ago, it started in August and the off-season," Bragg said. "All the training we have been doing helped. We played in the Brownsburg Tournament where we had two best-of-5 matches back to back, and during club season they play a lot of matches in one day, so their bodies are kind of used to it." The Stars started the day off facing undefeated Southwood, the defending Class 1A state champions who had won 51 matches in a row. Western Boone was down 2-1, and found themselves down 28-27 in the fourth set. With their season on the line, WeBo won three-straight points to extend the match. "In the first match, it was just, we are not losing," Durbin said. "Our mindset was on winning and we just said 'no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes, no matter if someone dies in process, we are winning this game." WeBo was down 5-2 early in the fifth set, but rallied to take a 7-5 lead and never looked back. They went up 12-9 on a kill by Emmerson Gott before trading points the rest of the way. "We definitely had a lot of grit, especially the first match going to five," senior Sadie Poeck said. "It really showed our preparation came through with all the conditioning, all the film and everything we have done leading up to this. Coach Laura did a great job preparing us and we just put it all together." Facing Woodlan for the semi-state championship roughly 4 1/2 hours after the end of the first match, the Stars had to dig deep into their preparation to come out on top. The Warriors not only had the earlier match, but also cruised in three sets, so they were much more rested coming into the final. freestar Durbin said in a situation like that, you have to rely on your teammates to help pull you through. "It takes a lot more mental toughness, and physical toughness too because you're playing those long sets - but it says more about our mental toughness and how much we really believe in each other and can rely on each other in those big moments," Durbin said. "It was just fake it until we make it. Every one is tired, but the team that can figure out how to push past their limits is going to be victorious" Through the first two sets, WeBo struggled to get any separation from Woodlan. In the first set, WeBo never trailed, and led by as many as four, but couldn't put the set away until 29-27. The Stars looked like they had things figured out in the second, leading 22-14, but the Warriors went on an 8-0 run to tie the set at 24. WeBo ultimately prevailed 27-25, then put the match away in the third. Bragg said Woodlan was different than a lot of teams they faced later in the year and it took a while to adjust to what they were doing. "I know the first two were close, but I was confident we would get it done," Bragg said. "They tipped a lot and we haven't played a team like that in a few weeks. With us being tired and that different style, it took us a while to get honed in to take control." Durbin had 53 kills on the day, 34 coming in the first match. Poeck added 36, with Gott having 11, including seven in the championship match. Olivia Smith had 23 digs on the day, Poeck added 22 digs, Durbin had 21, Izzy Adams had 20 and Ransom had 19. Alyssa Witte had seven blocks in the two matches, with Ransom having 101 assists. Western Boone will face Brownstown Central in the State Finals at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Ball State. "It feels like a dream," Poeck said. "I feel like everything is just paid off and I'm just so proud of us, we have worked so hard to get to this point. We just have continue what we are doing because it's working and I am really excited for it." For Durbin, Ransom and Smith, this is their second time being on a state finals roster after reaching the final as freshman. Bragg said she knows the seniors will do a good job of bringing the younger players along and making sure they know what to expect. Durbin said the Stars had planned all year on being in this spot, now they have to finish it off. "We set our goals early in the season and we have been working toward that," she said. "We've really brought it upon ourselves to push past all the doubt in our mind and all the hesitations that we have to just finish this end goal and go out with a bang." Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.