Aquin loses IHSA volleyball semifinal to state power Champaign St. Thomas More

Aquin loses IHSA volleyball semifinal to state power Champaign St. Thomas More STM volleyball to play for state championship NORMAL — St. Thomas More volleyball team had dropped just five sets in its first 40 matches entering Friday morning's Class 1A state semifinal versus Freeport Aquin. The Bulldogs didn’t care about that. They popped the Sabers in the mouth and secured the opening game in their favor. Aquin seemed determined to make the most of the program’s first-ever state appearance. STM harbored other ideas. “Going into the second set was just looking at each other,” STM senior Anna McClure said. “We really focused on breathing between sets. And so, especially when you’re down, I think taking a deep breath is really good.” The Sabers may have had supporters holding their collective breath for more than an hour inside Redbird Arena. But everyone involved with coach Kelly McClure’s team could let out a sigh of relief once STM rallied past Aquin 19-25, 25-22, 25-18 and booked its spot in Saturday’s 10:30 a.m. state championship match. We still have one goal in mind,” Sabers senior setter Caroline Kerr said, “but we’re taking this one game at a time. For us to have that first game under our belt means everything against a very good team. To be one step closer to our ultimate goal, it’s definitely set the standard for what we want.” That end goal, of course, is STM’s second-ever state title and first since winning the 2017 Class 2A crown.None of the current Sabers (40-1) were part of that squad. Only Kerr and Anna McClure were regular contributors to the 2018 team that placed third in Class 2A. “We love high-pressure matches. That’s one of the best things about our team is we love the pressure,” the younger McClure said. “(Saturday) especially we’re going to bring our identity of knowing that we play well under pressure.”