NORMAL, Ill. • Something old and something new will be playing Friday and Saturday at the state volleyball tournament at Redbird Arena.
THE OLD
• Breese Central (32-8) will make its 10th state appearance and second in in a row when it takes on defending champion Chicago Christian (22-18) at 1:30 p.m. Friday in a semifinal match in Class 2A. Central lost in three sets to Chicago Christian in the championship match last season.
• Mater Dei (37-3), the defending Class 3A champion, will make its 21st appearance at the state tournament when it plays St. Francis (34-6) in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
THE NEW
• Gibault (32-8) will meet Dakota (39-1) at 9 a.m. in a Class 1A semifinal. First-year coach Heather Ebert thinks her team will be able to handle the pressure of making its first trip to the final four.
"They'll handle their nerves very well just because they have been told all year that they weren't going to be very good," she said. "I think they've been very good about knocking that mental noise out and just knowing how to play their game. To be honest, they all like playing in the spotlight. I'm sure they're going to play a lot better."
Hawks libero Erin Goldschmidt, a Southern Indiana recruit, is happy to be playing in the state tournament.
"No other volleyball team from this school has made it that far," she said. "I'm trying not to think about it too much. I just want to play my best and not get caught up in what it is."
Nerves are something Central middle hitter Taylor Voss will be aware of. Some pressure comes along with playing in the final four -- especially when, like Central, you are matched against the team that beat you in the state championship last year.
"We've got to play hard, win and not be nervous," Voss said.
Mater Dei outside hitter Brooke Schulte, a DePaul University basketball recruit, will be making her fourth trip to the state final four.
"Four times is an honor," she said. "Every time I went up it was on a great team. There's nothing better than going back up there and doing what we did last year in playing our hearts out and won state. Hopefully we can do that again."
First-year Mater Dei coach Chad Rakers, who took over the Knights program when his father stepped down after winning his sixth title last season, said nerves won't play a part in his team's match on Friday.
"I am anxious, though. I'll give you that," he said. "If there's something I'd like to take out of me is all that anxiousness. That anxiousness turns into a fire for me before the game. I just want to be as ready as we can be."
The Knights will be wearing orange ribbons in the their hair this weekend in support of classmate and football player Kane Weinberg, who was diagnosed with leukemia in September. The ribbons signify "No Knight Fights Alone."
