SAN ANTONIO — There were a few jitters to be sure, but they finally went out of the New Braunfels Unicorns with two straight points.
Consecutive aces by junior middle blocker Andrea Hannasch gave the Unicorns their opening game over San Antonio Alamo Heights, changing the momentum for good in a 25-23, 25-11, 25-20 Class 4A area volleyball playoff victory Tuesday at Alamo Convocation Center.
Hannasch had 16 kills, 19 digs, 3.5 blocks and the two aces for the 18th-ranked Unicorns (30-9), who advanced to play either Fredericksburg or Cedar Park Vista Ridge in a regional quarterfinal later this week. Christine Scherrer had 10 kills and 15 blocks for the 13th-ranked Mules, who ended their season 28-8.
“I think since we are so young, we’re not used to the playoff experience,” Hannasch said. “But after a while we started having fun. We finally got into it.”
The opening game was error-prone for both teams, but the Unicorns committed fewer of them. Heights had nine errors to start, keeping the Unicorns in front, but New Braunfels turned on the heat with Hannasch and sophomore outside hitter Jennifer Myer. Both players got unhinged midway through in the opening game, and by the second they were hard to stop.
It’s been a tough few weeks for New Braunfels coach Phyllis Fowler, who is mourning the passing of her father. Fowler has spent most of her time away from the court with her dad, who died after a brief illness on Sunday. She was very proud of her team’s performance on Tuesday.
“Ending that first game with two aces definitely gave us a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence going into that next game,” Fowler said.
New Braunfels turned in a 12-2 run midway through the second game, and in the third held off a late rally by the Mules to seize the match.
“They jumped all over them and did a great job,” Fowler said. “They were tight in the first game but they didn’t go into the second game with any pressure. They were more relaxed and executed well.”
The key was freeing up Hannasch and Myer, who got untracked during a 5-1 run in the opening game. Both combined for two kills and two blocks during the spurt, which also included a dink by Mary Beth Huber for an 18-12 New Braunfels lead.
Heights staged a 5-1 spurt of its own, led by a dink by Lindsey Stich and kills by Scherrer and Claire Warren, the latter pulling the Mules to within three, at 19-17. An ace by Stich cut the deficit to two before a pair of New Braunfels errors and a kill by Ellie Kuhn tied it at 20.
After a New Braunfels time out, Heights surged ahead with a kill by Kelsey Mangum for a 23-22 advantage, but that was it. Hannasch nailed a vicious kill, and followed with two aces to give the Unicorns the 25-23 win.
“I had (problems) with my jump serve so I stayed on the ground,” Hannasch said. “It was definitely a good way to end the game.”
Hannasch and Myer continued their assault into the second game. Hannasch had two kills, both teamed for a block and Myer added another kill for a 4-2 lead. Two Heights errors, a tip by Huber and a kill by Myer made it 9-3. New Braunfels led 11-6 when it began the biggest run of either team in the match. Myer had an ace and a kill, Breanne Schultz had a tip-in, Hannasch had a kill, there were two aces by Lindsey Fowler and a kill and a block by Elise Schaefer as the Unicorns went up 20-8.
The 12-2 skid mentally broke the Mules, who hit balls into the net, missed sets and became confused. They got a kill by Mangum and an ace by Kim Rohlfs, but a dink by Huber ended it, 25-11. New Braunfels held a steady lead in the third game — cruising 20-13 and then 23-16 — before a few New Braunfels errors and kills by Warren, Kuhn and Scherrer, brought Heights to within 24-20. But Hannasch ended the comeback and the match with a final kill, sending the Unicorns on to the next round.
There were great sets by Huber, who finished with a game-high 30 assists and 13 digs, and great defense.
“Mary Beth did such a good job moving the ball around,” Fowler said. “They were all over Andrea, but the ball wasn’t. We also got some good balls (on defense), so I’m very proud of them.”
Myer finished with 10 kills.
“We had to show them who we were,” she said. “In the second game we came out and decided to play. We came out with a lot more enthusiasm. Coach said we needed to cut down on errors and play with a lot more energy.”
Demi Payne had 1.5 blocks and Fowler had a pair of aces for New Braunfels. The Mules were also led by Stich’s 24 assists and an ace; Mangum’s 12 digs and eight digs and an ace by Rohlfs.
All in all, it was a good outing for the Unicorns.
“It took awhile for us to get there, but we finally got over the nerves,” Hannasch said.
