Young St. Vincent volleyball team keeps coming back

The St. Vincent volleyball team has shown that it's capable of making a comeback.

The Indians rallied to win a district title and overcame a 10-point deficit to nearly claim the Class 1 state championship on Saturday at the Show Me Center.

With the majority of the roster remaining the same next season, St. Vincent might even make a return trip to the final four.

The Indians trailed 13-3 in the third set of the title game against Winona before using an 8-0 run to pull within 13-11.

Winona regained a 19-12 lead, but St. Vincent couldn't be counted out yet.

The Indians clawed back to within three points and held the Wildcats at match point three times before a serve error ended the game to give Winona its third consecutive state title.

"This bunch has showed character all year, and that's all I preach," first-year St. Vincent coach Cindy Cissell said. "I said, 'Leave it all on the court. Don't have any doubts about how you did. If you still lose, that's OK. You know you played your best at that given moment.' They've shown that all year. I mean, we were down 8-0 to Leopold in the district final game and they fought their way back. We were down match point three times, and they fought their way back. I can't say enough about this group of kids. They're just awesome."

Junior outside hitter Jackie Verseman mentioned the Indians' district championship game against Leopold was a motivation during Saturday's third set. St. Vincent came back to win the final two sets 27-25 to claim the district title.

"I think we just had to tell each other, 'We can do this. We can come back,' because we have come back from games like that and won," Verseman said. "How we got here -- winning districts we clawed back from a big (deficit) That's just so exciting knowing that we've done it before and we could've done it again. Fell a little short this time, but we just know now that we're a comeback team, and we can do just about anything."

Cissell said that she tried to change the way her players approached games as well as their attitudes during her first season at the helm.

"You know, how they went about just approaching their serving situation and just their mental attitude," Cissell said of what she'd adjusted, "because I've been told by parents that last year if they'd have lost the first set they probably would've just said, 'OK, we can't win,' but not anymore, so they're ready to roll."

St. Vincent will return 10 of the 14 players on their final four roster next season, and a big smile crossed Cissell's face when she talked about the talent that will be around again.

"It's a pretty young team and like I said, I can't take all the credit because these kids are fantastic," Cissell said. "I was given so much talent, and the only thing I changed was their approach to the game."

Freshman Jackie Verseman will be one of the returning starters next season.

Jackie Verseman wiped tears from her eyes during the presentation of medals following the Indians second-place finish.

Junior outside hitter Kassidy Kassel, who said the freshman felt bad that they'd been unable to win the title for the team's four seniors, put a hand on the Jackie's shoulder and tried to comfort her.

Kassel said she told Verseman, "You have three more years, Jackie. You come back these three years," which echoes her coach's message to not dwell on what had happened in the past.

Cissell never wanted her team to look too far ahead, either, and Katie Verseman said the end goal was never to make it to the state tournament.

"All season it was districts, districts, districts," Verseman said. "We really did not focus on coming to state at all. I feel like it still hasn't hit me that we actually went to state this year. I think it's just going to be a 'one game at a time' kind of focus next year."