#TBT: Spartans shut the book on Williamsville's class 3A title run

Saturday, the St. Joseph-Ogden football team will meet Williamsville in the IHSA postseason for the second time in the Class 3A playoffs. This week's Throwback Thursday feature is a look back at their first meeting back on November 16 in 2013, when the Spartans defeated Williamsville in the quarterfinal matchup on their home turf, 38-26. In the photo above, SJO's Ryan Koss (54), Wesley Kibler (51) and Nick Poe (32) run through the team banner during team introductions. The trio, just a small part of the hard-hitting, determined Spartan team that season that went on to play in the state title game that season.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Quarterback Dalton Walsh makes a short pass in the second half. The Spartans notched their first quarterfinal victory since 2006. The team advanced a semifinal road game in Greenville on the following Saturday. This Saturday, Walsh hopes to earn a second win against the Bullets, this time as one of SJO's assistant coaches. See more photos from this week's Throwback Thursday here . . .

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Left: Kicking it into high gear, St. Joseph-Ogden's Orion Ciota runs the football for second half touchdown. Follow this link to see more photos from Ciota's football career at SJO. Right: St. Joseph-Ogden fans packed the stadium for the Williamsville. Despite a light drizzle during parts of the game, the majority of loyal fans hung around to watch the Spartans celebrate their quarterfinal win on Saturday. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Linemen Seth Griswell and Nolan Woller provide an impenetrable wall on a pass play to protect their quarterback from Bullets defender Nathan Jerome. See more photos of Griswell here and more of Woller here.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Despite chilly temperatures and drizzle, hundreds of St. Joseph-Ogden fans were on hand to watch the Spartans win their quarterfinal football game. An equally as large of group of fans made the trip the following weekend to the semifinal game in Greenville.

(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Left: Student fans were loud in their support for the Spartans. Here, Maroon Platoon members rally behind their team. Right:Hunter Hart celebrates another touchdown for his team in the second half. The receive made key catches in the game to help SJO march the ball down the field. A three-sport athlete, Hart continued his athletic career at the college level playing baseball. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

The Williamsville quarterback rolls to the ground after being sacked by Spartan linebacker Jordan Hartman in the second quarter. The St. Joseph-Ogden defense was relentless and unyielding in their contribution to the playoff win. The Spartans improved to 10-2 on the season after the victory. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Jacob Buoy congratulates teammate Dylan Koss as the final 15 seconds tick off the game clock. Buoy, who suffered a season-ending injury, was on the sidelines assisting whenever necessary in Saturday night's home game. See more photos from this game here. . . (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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Spartans volleyball team aces postseason win over Oakwood

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team opened their postseason play with an unusual victory on Tuesday. The Spartans served 16 aces across two short games to beat regional host Oakwood, 2-0.

Emily Bigger serves one of her nine aces against the Comets in the St. Joseph-Ogden High School's regional volleyball game on Tuesday. The Spartans won 2-0 and advance to Thursday's title game against Monticello. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

In the opening set, the Spartans tallied the first 17 points largely thanks to the serving prowess of senior Emily Bigger. The setter served 17 unanswered points before Oakwood finally lit up the board with a tipped ball.

"I didn't feel nervous. I was pretty confident," Bigger replied when asked if she experienced any stress from having to serve as many points as she did. "I just had to get the ball over the net."

Tuesday wasn't the first time in Bigger's volleyball career that she serve a high number consecutive service points. In a junior high game against Schlarman years ago, she vividly remember serving all 25 points.

"It takes a lot of mental toughness for Emily to stay back there that long," said head coach Abby McDonald. "It was a good start."

Nine of the 16 aces were courtesy of Bigger. Rylee Stahl had four, Kennedi Burnett added two and Lindsey Aden chipped in one for good measure.

After the Comets scored their first point at 17-1, the Spartans took advantage of the next side out to go on a five-point mini run advancing the count to 22-1. SJO casually allowed four more points to take the first set, 25-5.

The second set featured much longer rallies that kept the Comets back up against the wall from the opening point. St. Joseph-Ogden jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never had look over their shoulder once on the way to a 25-8 finish.

"Our kids kept fighting and stayed rather stable to the end," said McDonald, who watched her team pound 24 kills. "We are playing really complete volleyball right now."

Burnett, a sophomore, led all hitters with nine kills and five digs. Payton Vallee lumped on another six. Katelyn Berry had six.

"This time of year brings out a different level of play," McDonald said. She likes the level of cohesiveness that her team is bringing to the floor. "They are really dialed in right now."

Bigger is eager to play for the title on Thursday.

"I feel like our bond is stronger than any other team," she said. "We've worked just as hard as we can to get where we want to be in the end."

The Spartans will face Monticello in an Illini Prairie Conference rematch at 6pm on Thursday.

The Sages, who advanced to the championship game after escaping a 25-21, 32-30 scare from the Tuscola Warriors, dropped the final match of the regular season to the Spartans, 25-17, 25-19.