Gibbons beats St. Thomas in five sets

Cardinal Gibbons coach Marcy Meyer and her players agreed on one thing at Wednesday's practice:

They wanted to practice again.

On the court at Thursday's regional final, they made sure of something else:

They will.

''We're very glad that [Wednesday] was not our last practice,'' Meyer said.

Apparently practice is enjoyable when you're aiming for the state tournament. And that's exactly what the Chiefs (26-1) are doing, after the hosts claimed the District 9 title with a five-set win (18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 15-10) over rival St. Thomas Aquinas.

Or maybe it's just because Thursday's game made practice look easy.

Just like the 2007 district final, the 2008 version needed all five games to decide the winner of a match that senior Josh Nirenberg -- a basketball player headed to Appalachian State on scholarship -- called ``the most intense game I've ever played in any sport.''

The Raiders (23-4) ''took the momentum right away,'' coach Mike DiPierro said, capitalizing on a series of Cardinal Gibbons mistakes to win 25-18. They then took a 14-10 lead in the second game, appearing on their way toward giving their third-year coach his first season-ending win over the team -- and coach -- for whom he played in the late 1990s.

But after a Meyer timeout, the Chiefs appeared reborn.

''We're a very consistent team,'' senior John T. Downs said, ``and we don't let negativity get to us.''

Said Meyer: ''We didn't have our rhythm going, and I knew that was all we needed to do,'' Meyer said. ``So I told them to just work it, just get our game going, and they'll be all right.

``And that's what they did.''

A 14-10 deficit turned into a 19-15 lead, then a 25-21 win, then another 25-21 win. But the Raiders weren't done -- they claimed 11 of game four's last 16 points for a 25-18 win, forcing the decisive showdown.

Then experience took over, with the Chiefs -- district champs every year since 2005, when they went undefeated and won the state title -- jumping ahead 7-2 and never allowing the Raiders to get closer than two in a 15-10, elimination-game win.

Junior Nick Williams led the way for the Chiefs, soaring above the net and tallying 30 kills, along with three blocks, seven assists, 18 digs and seven service points. Senior Austin Belt, a freshman who didn't play on that state-title team, added 57 assists and 13 service points. Nirenberg, a first-year player, added seven blocks and nine kills.

The loss sent the Raiders home at the Chiefs' hands for the fourth straight year, forcing DiPierro -- who was frustrated by a number of late calls that went against his Raiders -- to wait one more year to see if he can top his former school.

Still, DiPierro said, he'd love to see his old team win Tuesday's regional and earn another trip to state.

After Thursday, Meyer thinks that's possible.