BELLEVILLE • Eric Fitterer figured it could happen somewhere down the road, but probably not this spring. Certainly not in just the third season of boys volleyball at Edwardsville.
"We knew coming into this season that we had a chance to go to state," said the Tigers 6-foot-7 outside hitter. "But we really did not know it would happen."
Though they were on the verge by advancing to Tuesday night's sectional final against Neuqua Valley at Belleville West, it still was quite a longshot, especially considering the Tigers trailed 24-22 in game two after dropping the first game 25-19.
But Fitterer and the Tigers dug deeper than they ever have. Somehow, against a veteran opponent with more than 30 wins, Edwardsville fought back for a 29-27 victory. They then rode that momentum into the deciding game.
And with the Tigers leading 24-21, Fitterer blocked a Wildcats' kill attempt for the winning point, touching off a wild celebration at midcourt.
"This is going to be a good one, being the first southern Illinois team to go to state," Fitterer said. "It feels real good."
Edwardsville (26-1) advances to the state tournament at Hoffman Estates High School in suburban Chicago. There they take on Vernon Hills at 2 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinal round.
Neuqua Valley (31-7) looked like the better team throughout the first game, getting the majority of its blistering kills from Jake Gerald and Jon Storm. The Wildcats stretched their lead to 21-12 at one point. The way the Tigers were passing, it looked like their night would be over quickly.
But Fitterer, a senior who ended the night with 17 kills, 6-5 middle blocker John Pranger, who added 11, and the rest of the Tigers were determined to leave it all on the court.
"After that first game, we just got back in the huddle before the second game and said, 'This is the last time we're going to play," Fitterer said. "Let's not go out here."
Though the early momentum did not appear to be going the Tigers' way, Edwardsville coach Andy Bersett implored the club to keep battling.
"We didn't play that well, they got us out, and we were a little rattled," Bersett said. "But we came back. We're a confident team. We're confident in our abilities and I think that helped us."
Edwardsville led game two by as many as six points before the Wildcats fought back to tie it at 14-14. From there, Neuqua Valley kept a one- to two-point lead all the way to 24-22 before its next shot went long. Junior Nathan Henning rammed home a kill to even the score, then put away a second one for a 25-24 Edwardsville advantage. Twice the Tigers reached the game-winning point, and both times Gerald, a savvy junior southpaw, answered with a kill.
Finally, Pranger pounded down a point for a 28-27 lead. And with Fitterer back at the service line, Edwardsville's Thomas Pauk ripped a winner to send the match to game three.
Neuqua Valley started out as the better passing team, but by the end of the match, their passes were not connecting. Edwardsville's passing seemed to get better as the match went on. As the third game wound down, the Wildcats started to struggle with the rocket-like, sinking jumpserves of Fitterer and Pranger.
While the Wildcats struggled with those, the Tigers handled everything thrown at them.
"The good thing is we practice with John and Eric's serve every day," Bersett said. "It's just, Eric, go after 'em. Dig this. If you can pass John and Eric, you can pass anybody."
After such a great start, Neuqua Valley coach Erich Mendoza was a little shell-shocked by the ending.
"Edwardsville played a great match, and I hope they do well at state," Mendoza said. "It's cool for them to get that experience to go up there.
"We did real well in game one, the difference was Edwardsville passed better than they did in game one. They're real big, and we're not a very big team ... In game two, we had match point and we couldn't get that last point. I'm sure that's going to dwell on these guys' minds."
