Fulton Steamers Reclaim Regional Title After First Set Loss

The Fulton Steamers lost the opening set of the Class 1A St. Bede Regional championship match 23-25 on Thursday in Peru, but they recovered to secure the title with a 25-10, 25-13 victory over the Bureau Valley Storm.

The No. 1 seed, which improved to a 31-5 record, has now won 21 consecutive matches. The win guarantees Fulton a spot in the Wethersfield Sectional on Tuesday, where they will face Brimfield.

Bureau Valley, the No. 4 seed, took control of the early stages of the first set. Mya Shipp scored a kill to give the Storm a 4-2 lead, though three subsequent errors by the Steamers tied the score at 5-5. The momentum shifted as Fulton’s Kerby Germann delivered two strong attacks to establish a 9-5 lead.

The Storm answered with a block by Elise House and an ace from Audrey Endress. A combined block by Brynley Doty and Libby Endress brought the score to 9-9 before Shipp and Libby Endress led a 5-0 run for Bureau Valley. That run included two kills down the line by Shipp, extending the Storm’s lead to 14-10.

Fulton countered with shots from Germann, one of which went off the net for a point. The Steamers led 23-19, but two hitting errors by Fulton allowed Shipp to score a kill. The set ended in a tie at 23-23 after a quick hit by House and an ace by Doty. Shipp capped the set with a kill to end a 6-0 run for the Storm.

Storm coach Saige Oleson credited her team’s execution in the first set. "We came out and executed our plan well tonight in that first set," Oleson said. "We soaked in the environment of the regional championship and Mya (Shipp) is just a huge playmaker for us and the girls rally around that."

The second set saw an immediate shift in momentum. Fulton’s Chloe Wilkin opened with a powerful shot, followed by back-to-back aces from Averi Bush. Germann added two consecutive kills to make the score 5-1. The Steamers extended their lead to 9-2 after two errors by the Storm and another hit by Germann.

Germann and Nora Kingery each added two kills to push the Fulton lead to 14-4. Wrenn Coffey served an ace for the Steamers, and Wilkin recorded two kills to build the lead to 20-5. Wilkin finished the set with two rapid attacks and an ace from Bush, sealing the 25-10 result.

The third set mirrored the second. Wilkin recorded a stuff and a block to give Fulton a 4-2 lead. Kingery blasted a shot down the center for a 10-6 advantage. A quick swat by Wilkin and a combined block with Ella Folk, along with two aces from Brianne Brennan, extended the lead to 17-7. Germann and Wilkin recorded back-to-back kills to make it 19-8. A tip by Wilkin and an unreturned shot by Germann brought the score to 21-10.

Fulton closed the match after two wide blocks and a communication error by the Storm. Germann led the team with 15 kills, while Wilkin added 10. Brennan recorded 17 digs, and Germann had 12. Bureau Valley finishes the season with a 26-8-1 record.