Auburn came into their Tuesday night semifinal having won seven of their previous ten matches. They knew the JCC Thunderbird team they’d be facing in the semifinals would certainly be their stiffest test of the season. What the Bulldogs weren’t expecting was a 3^rd place match on Thursday against what is likely their second toughest opponent this season. The Freeman Falcons.  Freeman entered Tuesday’s semifinal the number two seed and supporting a 21-3 record (two of those losses to an undefeated JCC team). The Falcons were a team expected to challenge JCC for a conference title. However, in a match that went back and forth for five sets, the Falcons were upset three sets to two losing to the 3^rd seeded Elmwood-Murdock Knights.

Those two results set up a rematch Thursday night in Tecumseh between the Bulldogs and Falcons. The winner would take home not just a third-place finish, but momentum that would hopefully carry into the postseason – a postseason that’s just a few weeks away. It was the second meeting between the two teams this season. The first, saw the Bulldogs take just one set from the Falcons in a late September match in Auburn.

The first set Thursday was back and forth with each team trading some hustle plays and some service errors early. Auburn would take an early two-point lead on a kill by sophomore Emery Taylor to give the Bulldogs an 8-6 advantage. That lead would fall though as the Falcons forced a Bulldog timeout at 12-8. The Bulldogs battled and cut into that deficit multiple times but were never able to get closer than two before a Falcon run ballooned the score to a 22-15 lead. That lead forced a second Bulldog timeout and essentially put the first set out of reach. Freeman would take the first set 25-15, once again, on another service ace.

The second set began much like the first with each team trading a kill and hitting error. It was the Falcons who would take an early two-point advantage on some strong serving by Junior Shiloh Wallman, but back-to-back kills by Taylor for the Bulldogs would tie things back up at five. The first big advantage of the set saw the Falcons extend a 9-9 game to 13-9 before a service error and kill by Auburn junior Heidi Gerdes brought the Bulldogs back within two. Just a few points later, Gerdes would tie things back up at 14 on an ace serve. The Bulldogs would trade point-for-point and keep things tied at 17 on the sixth kill of the night by Taylor.

A small Falcon run would force a Bulldog timeout on Falcon Junior Reagan Rinne’s sixth kill of the night.  However, a three point run back the other way would tie things back up at 21 and force a Falcon timeout after a Falcon hitting error. The third ace of the night for Wallman gave the Falcons a 24-22 lead and forced the second Bulldog timeout of the set – a set Freeman would eventually take 25-23.

The Falcons asserted themselves early in set three jumping out to a 6-2 lead on Rinne’s 8^th kill of the night. A 3-0 Bulldog run on the back of some strong Nora Jacobitz serving would see Auburn once again battling back and cutting the Freeman lead to 10-9. The Bulldogs would use their first timeout of the third set when a Falcon kill made the score 17-14. The 11^th kill of the night for Falcon Senior Alicia Johansen would see Freeman take a 22-16 lead that the Bulldogs wouldn’t be able to overcome. Ultimately, the Falcons were just too much for Auburn on Thursday evening as Freeman would take set three 25-20 and the match 3-0.

The Bulldogs played well in stretches but were also always trying to play catch up. It was a common theme throughout the night – always having to battle back, never giving up, but never quite getting over the hump either. Credit must be given to the Falcons as well. They did what good teams do in not letting their mistakes affect the next point and taking advantage of Bulldog mistakes. The Falcons now 22-4 record is no joke. They are a solid ball team and showed it Thursday night in Tecumseh. For Auburn, they head into their final match of the regular season at Plattsmouth having just faced two teams likely headed to the state tournament in Freeman and JCC.