MONTICELLO — The Bismarck-Henning Blue Devils weren’t quite sure what to expect this season.

All they knew was that despite losing many key players from the 2008 season, they had high expectations to live up to and a tradition to carry on.

The Blue Devils met those expectations by winning their third regional title in four years and added to their winning tradition, earning the respect they desire from programs outside of the area.

But the Effingham St. Anthony Bulldogs ended Bismarck-Henning’s hopes of taking the next step, defeating the Blue Devils 26-24, 25-13 in Tuesday’s Monticello Sectional semifinal.

“I think for what everybody thought, that we wouldn’t make it as far, we really stepped up as a team,” Bismarck-Henning senior Melissa Miller said. “We came together and did what had to be done. We were really close. We got along great on and off the court. That really helped us get as far as we did.

“It really was a year that we were able to show people what we were made of and that we could go farther than what people thought we could.”

The Blue Devils built a winning streak this season of 17-straight matches, with five going the maximum three sets, and one against Seeger (Ind.) going five.

The toughness gained through playing those intense matches was what Bismarck-Henning needed to make a playoff run, but the Bulldogs kept the Blue Devils off balance just enough to get the win.

“The effort was there,” Blue Devils coach Susan Kentner said. “We saw a lot of spirit, a lot of energy, a lot of balls that were probably done and came back, but we were not able to take those balls and make them into a point which we had been able to do during the season.

“They just kept us on our toes and we could not get our offense flowing.”

Battling their way back from a five-point deficit, Elyse Lippert served the Blue Devils to a 22-21 lead late in the first set. But a few miscues led to a 26-24 loss. And after starting the second set on their heels, the Blue Devils fought to stay in contention in the second but couldn’t settle into a groove.

After what was a successful campaign for all three Bismarck-Henning teams (varsity, junior varsity and freshman) that finished with a combined record of 57-5, the loss was frustrating but offered hope for continued future success.

“I think that next year, we will have a lot to live up to again,” junior Autumn Rush said. “We lost some great players (seniors Miller, Courtney Reinken, Alexis Walsh and Jordan Arford), but I think we can come back and do that.

“We have a lot of talent coming up, and as long as we play as a team like we have been, anything can happen.”

Finishing with a 24-4 overall record, Kentner offers much of the credit to the team’s athletes, including Reinken, who set the program’s record for kills in just two short years.

But Rush says there is another reason for the Blue Devils’ consistency.

“Our coach is a really great coach,” Rush said. “She has a lot of confidence in us and she knows that she can build us to be what we want to be. She leaves a lot of it to us, but she doesn’t give herself enough credit. She does a lot for us.”

Losing the four senior leaders might imply, again, a rebuilding year for the 2010 season, but the Blue Devils’ history suggests the program will pick up right where it left off.

“(The seniors) have been true volleyball players and they have brought a lot of spirit, a lot of energy to the game in a season where a lot of people would have counted us out with what we lost last year,” Kentner said. “Those seniors would not accept it and wanted to make us better. I think they did.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that Bismarck-Henning Blue Devil volleyball has got a lot of pride. We’re going to be back. We’re going to keep trying to get here. We’re not going to give up on it and I think teams have to respect that about us. Year in and year out, we’re going to bring competitiveness. That’s what we want to be known as. Bismarck-Henning is a very competitive team.”