Despite leading 2-1, Conner did not have the momentum.
But that changed when the captain took over leading the Cougars to a historic first region tournament win in program history. Lilly Hamburg dominated the net in the fourth game with four kills and being part of at least four blocks to help Conner beat Highlands, 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 25-12).
“This could possibly have been our last game so I wanted to go out and play the hardest I could in case it was,” Hamburg said. “But we didn’t let that happen. Our biggest adjustment was we just started playing harder.”
Hamburg finished with 18 kills, three solo and three assisted blocks in the victory. The 6-footer leads the Cougars with 389 kills, 109 blocks and 60 aces on the season.
Hamburg had plenty of help as Conner’s depth showed. Conner’s other dominant middle blocker Peyton Walker had 13 kills and one solo block. Carly Nehus had six kills and Shylyn Koerber added five.
“I think our girls have earned it,” said Douglas Rabe, Conner head coach. “Our girls have worked so hard over the last several years. All those workouts in the offseason and that extra effort in practices accumulating to where we actually win in the first round of region is the icing on the cake.”
Conner (28-7) had 69 digs, 46 kills, 46 assists, seven aces and seven blocks overall. Anna Hamilton dug up 19 balls to go with two aces with Maddie Leiprecht and Bailey Morris digging up 10 balls each. Leiprecht also landed two aces.
“I believe that everyone steps up and plays her part when it really matters,” Morris said. “We all come together as a team and work really hard.”
Aubrey Depenbrock had 20 assists and 11 digs and Jordan Ransdell had 18 assists.
Highlands (20-16) gave a valiant effort trying to keep its season alive. The Bluebirds had 35 kills, 33 assists, 71 digs, 10 blocks and seven aces. Hayden Gessner racked up 26 digs with Ellie Mohr and Annie Ellison following with 14 and 12 digs, respectively. Ellison added four aces and Kenzie Roderick had three.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this group,” said Jim DeLong, Highlands head coach. “They had to get used to me. I’m proud of the process and foundation these kids have laid for me in my first season back at Highlands.”
Rachel Ossege concluded her career with 14 kills for the Bluebirds and Ella Cox had 25 assists. The Bluebirds found some success in the third game with Lyla Bottom and Alexis Steinhauser, who finished with six and four kills, respectively. Steinhauser and Maggie Carnohan led Highlands with two blocks each.
The first game stayed tight. But Conner ran off four straight on a Hamilton ace along with kills from Hamburg and Jordan Potter to go up 11-7. The Cougars extended the lead to 18-9 with six straight. Highlands ran off three in a row with Roderick landing an ace before Hamburg landed a kill to end the game.
Conner came out strong in the second game. The Cougars built an 8-3 lead after a Ransdell ace and Walker kill. Highlands did trim the lead to 13-10 before two Leiprecht aces increased the lead back to 20-14. Hamburg finished that game with two kills.
Highlands came out of the game stronger in the third game building an 8-3 lead. But Conner fought back and tied the game at 18. Tied at 19, Highlands scored the last six points of the game. Ossege finished it with two kills.
“We were able to able to score more with our middles,” DeLong said. “It started more on defense for us. (Walker and Hamburg) were having their way with us out of serve receive. We were able to start identifying where they were going and trying to do. I think we were able to get Conner out of its game plan, which gave us some confidence. Confidence turns into points for us. We were able to take care of the ball and make better decisions as hitters. It picked us up emotionally.”
But in the fourth game, Hamburg gave the Cougars the lead for good at 3-2 off a kill. That lead increased to 17-6 after a Potter kill. Koerber finished the game with a kill.
“I think having that deep bench helps,” Rabe said. “We are one that if a player is not having the typical game, other players can step in.”
Conner takes on defending state champion Notre Dame (28-5) in the semifinals back at Cooper High School on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Notre Dame won the regular season match-up in Hebron, 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-7) on Sept. 14.
Highlands hit the 20-win plateau for the fifth time in the last seven years. The Bluebirds graduate six seniors off the team that won a seventh straight 36th District Tournament championship.