CENTER POINT

In front of an energetic home crowd the Center Point-Urbana Stormin Pointers secured their first trip to state since 2015 by defeating the Golden Hawks, 3-1, with final set scores of 25-23, 17-25, 25-17, 25-21 on Oct. 24. 

No. 7 CP-U and No. 12 Mid-Prairie entered the Class 3A Regional Finals having dropped zero sets in the postseason. Both teams swept the competition in the first two rounds to reach the finals for a shot at state.

Striking the first blow, the Stormin Pointers went up 1-0 after winning what ended up being the most highly contested set of the night. 

While trailing CP-U scored seven straight points to take a 21-17 lead and despite the Hawks proceeding to tie the game at 23-23, the Stormin Pointers completed their comeback with back-to-back scores. 

“We were sending [CP-U] too many free balls,” Mid-Prairie coach Sherry Evans said. “And then you have a right-side hitter like Sydney Maue, who is just going to bounce it on the ten-foot line.” 

Going into this matchup Mid-Prairie knew they would have to keep its eyes on CP-U junior Sydney Maue and her ability to score points in bunches. Maue ended the night with a team leading 19 kills.

“[Maue] is a stud,” coach Evans said. “Jovi [Evans] played with her in club for the last few years, so we knew her, we knew how she played. She did a great job.”

Mid-Prairie sophomore Jovi Evans has been sensational all season long and this game was no exception. Evans ended the night with a triple double, 20 kills, 25 assists, and 24 digs. 

“Just a tremendous athlete Jovi is, you literally can put her anywhere,” coach Evans said. “She gets a little crazy sometimes when she’s playing defense in the right back, thinking she needs to transition a little early. But a lot of setters do that. 

Responding in kind, the Hawks evened up the series with an impressive looking win. Leading by as many as nine in the second set, Mid-Prairie eventually secured an eight-point victory.

“[Jovi] came in and had some really big kills for us right at the beginning, especially in some really key moments,” coach Evans said. “She had some good momentum moves for kills. She had some good digs, good serves. When she feeds Callie Huber that ball, it’s going to most likely go down. 

One score shy of reaching double digits, junior Callie Huber ended her night with nine kills and three blocks.

The third set saw a similar match but this time the results were flipped on its head. Leading by as many as nine in the third set, CP-U eventually secured an eight-point victory. 

On defense standout junior Dakota Mitchell, one of the three Mid-Prairie captains, led the team with 31 digs. She also recorded a service ace in set three.

Despite a late rally by the Hawks to tie the fourth set at 17-17, the Stormin Pointers went on an 8-4 run to close out the set, the match, and Mid-Prairie’s season. 

For Mid-Prairie this loss marks the end of a sensational season that saw the team reach 31 wins and capture a conference championship, their first conference title since 2002. 

Mid-Prairie will say goodbye to three seniors, Reese Good, Paige Safly, and Ava Pence. 

“I adore and appreciate each and every one of them,” coach Evans said about the three Mid-Prairie seniors. “We’ve taken some big hits previous years with seniors, but as far as next year, we get most everyone back. We’re just going to be one more year experienced, one more year older. So, that’s really exciting.”