DEFIANCE – The 2012 BBC and D-IV Sectional Champion Edon Lady Bombers opened the D-IV District competition on October 23, with Cardinal Stritch on the other side of the net. Stritch earned their trip to the District by mowing down the competition at the Archbold Sectionals, and on this night that momentum carried them a step further as they wore down the Belles in Bomber Blue in four sets, 25-23, 25-21, 19-25 and 25-16.
In Stritch, the Lady Bombers found a team that executed the fundamentals as well as themselves, and the first two sets were examples of that parity. While Stritch was able to build leads, they were never able to get the Lady Bombers out of their rearview mirror. The third set saw Edon rallying to take a lead, then battling tooth and nail to keep the lead. Their third set battle appeared to be a Pyrrhic victory though, as it seemed to drain the energy of the Lady Bombers. They struggled to stem the Stritch tide from the outset of the fourth set, which they lost by more than the margins of the first two sets combined.
Sydney Stoll was 37/37 setting with 7 assists, and 17/18 serving with 27 digs and 14 kills for the 20-4 Lady Bombers, while Alex Kiess went 65/65 setting the ball and 19/20 serving with 14 assists and 7 kills. Kennedy Brigle was 13/13 serving and Andrea Headley was 11/12 serving with an ace and 32 digs. Nicole Newell went 16/17 serving with 2 aces and 21 digs, and Becky Fisk belted 8 kills.
The end of the tournament trail spelled the end of the Edon careers for seniors, Stoll, Fisk, Headley, Kennedy Brigle, Kaylyn Brigle, Sabrina White and Mihkaya Best. It also ended the coaching careers of the legendary tandem of Don Walton and Paul Stoll, who announced prior to the start of the season that they would be stepping away from the helm at the end of the season.