The Johnson County Central Thunderbirds are having a magical season that many high school volleyball teams can only dream of having. The Thunderbirds entered their Thursday night match a perfect 25-0 and having passed every test of the season with flying colors. In fact, the T-Birds had dropped just three SETS prior to their ECNC championship match against the Elmwood-Murdock Knights. The Knights rode into Thursday’s tilt like royalty after having upset the 2^nd seeded Freeman Falcons three sets to two in Tuesday’s semifinals match.

The T-Birds are likely the C2 favorite to win the volleyball title this season while the Knights came into Thursday night’s tilt having won seven of their last ten. The biggest of those, of course, was the Tuesday night upset of Freeman – another team looking to reach the state tournament later this season. It would be a tall task for the Knights, but a challenge they were looking forward to taking on. It was nearly a full house for the ECNC championship match on Thursday in Tecumseh.

A couple of T-Bird net violations and an ace serve by Knight senior Zoe Zierott would see the Knights take an early 5-2 advantage, but back-to-back kills by Ashley Beethe and Harley Lubben preceded an Elmwood-Murdock rotation error that saw the match tie back up at five. A kill by Junior Molly Weber would extend a T-Bird lead to 12-9 and force the first timeout of the set for Elmwood-Murdock. Beethe’s fifth kill of the night would see that lead extend to 15-9. The Knights would battle back though and a kill by Senior Brooke Goudle would force a T-Bird timeout at 15-13. That would be all the closer the Knights would get in set one though as the T-Birds would take set one 25-18.

Set two began with the two teams’ trading points and remaining deadlocked at five. The Knights would take a small 9-7 lead early in the set – a lead that would extend to 11-8 on the second kill of the night by Goudle. However, the T-Birds would go right back to their star Ashley Beethe and back-to-back kills would see her snag her 10^th kill of the night in set two. The T-Birds would force an Elmwood-Murdock timeout at 16-14 on the 7^th kill of the night for Lubben. However, a T-Bird hitting error would knot things back up at 17 and a Knight kill by Goudle would force a T-Bird timeout with the Knights jumping back in front 18-17.

Again, the T-Birds would be forced to call a timeout trailing 20-17 after a kill by Knight Sophomore Ayzlee Haertel. They would extend that lead to 22-17 out of the timeout before a hitting error would stop the bleeding for JCC. The Knights though would continue to play inspired ball and they would defeat the T-Birds 25-20 in set two – marking just the fourth set dropped by the T-Birds this season.

The Knights would come out right where they left off taking an early 3-1 advantage on an ace serve, but it was a 14^th kill for Ashley Beethe that would stop the short spurt to open the third set. The Knights would again take a three point lead at 9-6 but Weber’s 3^rd kill of the night and Lubben’s 10^th kill of the night would pull JCC back within one. The T-Birds would tie things back up at 11 on another Weber kill and a Beethe block would give them their first lead at 12-11 and force a Knight timeout.

The teams would battle in the middle stages of set three until Beethe’s 16^th  and 17^th kills of the night extended the T-Bird lead to 18-14. A Knight hitting error forced Elmwood-Murdock head coach Nichole Justesen to take her first timeout of the third set with JCC leading 21-15. With Beethe moving to the back row, the Knights would climb back to within 21-18. The six point lead was just too much for the Knights to overcome though and JCC took set three 25-21.

Set four saw the two teams trade punches early before a small run by JCC allowed them to take a 7-4 advantage early. The T-Birds continued their run and the 14^th kill of the evening for Lubben extended the lead to 10-5 and forced an early Knight timeout. It was a run that happened with Beethe in the back row – a rotation the T-Birds had struggled in for the majority of the evening. The Knights, as they had done all evening, battled and managed to pull within 12-10. Beethe, as she had done all evening, shut the door on the Knights rally and her 20^th kill of the night came with the T-Birds leading 13-10.

Justesen’s team though wouldn’t go away. Another Knights run forced a T-Bird timeout when the Knights took their first lead at 15-14 midway through the set. It was an unfamiliar situation for the T-Birds – facing the possibility of losing a second set that hadn’t happened to this point in the season. The teams continued to trade leads with Elmwood-Murdock taking a 21-20 advantage before the T-Birds knotted things back up. Tied at 22, a Knight service error and Beethe kill would give the T-Birds first chance at set and match point. Beethe’s 24^th kill of the evening would seal it for Johnson County Central, and the T-Birds would claim the ECNC crown in a three set to one defeat of the Elmwood-Murdock Knights.

The Knights, as they did Tuesday for Freeman, provided to be a formidable opponent for the Thunderbirds. They played without fear and had JCC on the ropes numerous times. However, as the T-Birds have done all season, they weathered the storm in the face of adversity. JCC remains a perfect 26-0, adds an ECNC championship to their resume, and remains the favorite to add another championship later this fall.