Article and photos by T Ray Henry
On Monday, September 14th, Marshall High School volleyball teams hosted the Tri-County Titans in a non-conference doubleheader inside McNary Gymnasium. It was Beachwear night for the Marshall student section. The students came out in force to support the Lions who came into the match with a season record of 10-5. Tri-County came in with a record of 2-10.
Both varsity teams played in the Shelbyville tournament two days prior while playing five matches apiece during the day, but the Lions and the Titans did not meet on the court in Shelbyville. Marshall finished the tournament in fourth place, while Tri-County finished in eighth. The Titans begin conference play (Tuesday), so this match in the Lions’ Den serves as preparation for their Lincoln Prairie Conference opener at Blue Ridge (Farmer City) Tuesday, while the Lions play all their matches this week out of conference.
In the varsity match, Marshall won in straight sets by the scores of 25-20 and 25-11. The junior varsity match went to three sets after Marshall won the opening set 25-22 before the Titans’ JV squad won the second set in overtime 28-26. In the third and deciding set, Marshall won by the score 15-10 to win two sets to one.
In the varsity contest, Marshall broke out of the blocks in the opening set by going on a 9-2 run to start the match. A kill by Lilly Ross was followed by a kill by Harper Richardson. McKenzie Davis then served an ace, and a tip winner by Harper Richardson, two kills by Ellie Delp, and a kill apiece by Lilly Ross and Libby Huisinga also paced the Lions’ attack.
A 7-1 run by Tri-County highlighted by an ace served by Rylee Hill brought the score to 10-9 in favor of Marshall as the Lions called time out. The teams battled back and forth until the set was tied at 13, then Marshall slowly began to pull ahead, first with scores by Libby Huisinga (kill) and Lilly Ross (tip winner), then on a kill by Harper Richardson to make the score 16-13.
From this point on, the Titans never got within three points as Marshall won the opening set 25-20. Scores by Lily Shotts (kill), Ellie Delp (2 kills), Harper Richardson (tip winner, kill), Libby Huisinga (kill), and McKenzie Davis (kill at set point) led the way down the stretch for the Lions.
In the second set, Marshall once again jumped out to a big lead (8-2), but this time, Tri-County did not make a run to get back to level. Marshall kept increasing its lead throughout as the Lions won the second set by the score of 25-11 to win the match in straight sets.
Scoring for the Lions in the second set were Lilly Ross (3 kills, tip winner, 5 aces), Harper Richardson (block score, tip winner, typical winner, 2 kills, ace), Lily Shotts (block score, winner), and Ellie Delp (kill). Ali Sheets and Lauren English patrolled the back and sides of the floor to keep points alive.
Statistical Highlights for the Varsity...
Aces: Ross 6, Davis 2, Richardson 1
Kills: Richardson 9, Ross 6, Delp 5
Blocks: Richardson 3, Ross 1, Huisinga 1
Assists: Richardson 12, Ross 10
Digs: Ross 7, Sheets 5, Davis 4
Serve Receive: Sheets 10 (0 Errors), English 8 (1 Err.), Davis 6 (0 Errors)
In the junior varsity match, Tri-County led 2-0 before back-to-back kills by Marshall’s Libby Huisinga and Olivia Strohm tied the score at 2 apiece. The Titans led by as many as five points (13-8) before Marshall stormed back by outscoring Tri-County 7-2 to tie the set at 15. Aubree Shaffer (2 kills, 3 tip winners) and Libby Huisinga (2 kills) paced the Lions during the comeback.
Lauren Richards, Aubree Shaffer, and Allie Thompson each scored, but Tri-County went ahead 20-19. Marshall tied it up at 20 before Lexi Mason served a huge ace for the Lions to take the lead at 21-20. After the Titans went ahead 22-21, a kill by Libby Huisinga got Marshall back into a tie at 22 before Lauren Richards served three straight points for the Lions to take the first set by the score of 25-22. Richards put an exclamation point on the set by recording an ace on set point.
The second set of the junior varsity match was a great set to watch as a fan but it was nerve-wracking for a player, coach, or parent as the teams combined for 14 ties and 5 lead changes. Tri-County came out of the battle by winning the set by the score of 28-26 to send the match to a third and deciding set. In the second set alone, neither team held a lead greater than three points the entire set. For Marshall, Libby Huisinga, Breck Bishop, Allie Thompson, Lauren Richards, and Aubree Shaffer all scored.
In the third set of the JV match, Marshall jumped ahead 12-6 after scored by Libby Huisinga, Olivia Strohm, Breck Bishop, and Aubree Shaffer. Tri-County came back to outscore the Lions 4-1 to make the score 13-10 in Marshall’s favor. On the next point, a kill by Marshall’s Huisinga got the Lions to match point with the score 14-10 before Lauren Richards served the final point that Tri-County could not return, and Marshall earned a hard-fought win in the third set by the score of 15-10 to win the match two sets to one.
Marshall (11-5) returns to McNary Gymnasium Tuesday, September 15th when they welcome Martinsville for a non-conference doubleheader. The junior varsity match begins at 6:00 PM, with the varsity contest to follow.
Lilly Ross goes head and shoulders above the net to drill a hit against Tri-County
Lily Shotts (7) blocks and wins the point at the net versus Tri-County
Eli Thompson goes crowd surfing on beach night (photo by Tom Lisella)