Seniors serve up magic

?Finish it.?

That?s what the Washington volleyball team yelled after breaking the huddle before the third set on Thursday night, and on a night they had already made two unlikely comebacks, it was only fitting the Demons were going to need a third.

The Demons used a 10-2 run to claim a 26-24 victory in the first set against Southeast Conference opponent Keokuk, and a 13-0 run to take a 25-21 victory in the second set, and quickly found themselves down 6-1 in the third.

After that point, the Demons didn?t wait long to go on their run, scoring 16 of the next 19 points to take a 17-9 lead, en route to a 25-18 third-set victory for a sweep on senior night.

?It?s awesome,? senior Emma Stout said. ?I?m so happy we went out there and started things off on a good note. I?m happy for everyone. We showed perseverance tonight.?

For the six seniors on the Demon squad, it was the final home match they will play at Washington High School and it was important for them to leave it all on the court.

?(I wanted to) go after everything that was there and get the chance to show (we weren?t giving up),? Demon senior Joceline Spenner said. ?It was a good feeling to know that we started it and ended it in our last game on our home court.?

Washington?s victory marked their seventh on the season, eclipsing their win total from last year, as they picked up their second conference victory of the season. The win comes after one of the tougher losses of the season, a straight set loss to Fairfield, 25-13, 25-9, 25-6.

?We didn?t have a great game earlier this week in Fairfield, but to be able to bounce back from that, and remain in high spirits, it says more about the team and the players and how they can bounce back from those things,? Washington head coach Julianna Berg said. ?It?s not easy to come back and be excited. They did a good job and I?m proud of everything they did tonight.?

The Demons opened the match with all six seniors in the starting lineup, and traded points with Keokuk until it was a 5-4 Demon lead. Keokuk rallied off a six-point run to take a 10-5 lead, but Washington battled back to tie things up at 12. The Chiefs pulled back away with a 10-4 run, taking a 22-16 lead, but the Demons rattled off seven straight points to take the lead, and despite Keokuk tying the set up at 23 and 24, Washington used a kill from junior Jessie Buchholz and an ace by Stout to claim the first set.

?Spirits were high and everyone was excited,? Berg said. ?They were just having fun. Being able to have fun can make all the difference. Some of the balls they were getting touches on, it was exciting to see them come back from seven, eight, nine points down.?

In the second set, the Demons fell behind again, as Keokuk claimed the first seven points of the set. Washington battled back to make it 9-5, but the Chiefs stepped on the gas to make it 21-12.

After that, it was all up to Stout?s serve, as Washington rattled off 13 straight points to take the set and a 2-0 lead.

?Mostly I was telling myself, ?don?t miss,?? Stout said. ?I was trying to bring the game back so we could have an awesome night and end senior night on a good note.?

Washington?s 16-3 third-set run helped separate themselves for a 21-14 lead, when the Demons put all their seniors back out on the court to finish the match together.

?We?ve got really close throughout the years and (the season has) been hard on everyone,? Stout said. ?I?m glad we could be together and end it as a team.?

Washington will hit the road to take on Fort Madison for its final regular season match of the year, before facing Clear Creek-Amana on Oct. 26 in regional play.