Article and photos by T Ray Henry
On Tuesday, September 29th, the Marshall High School volleyball team traveled to Richland County High School to take on the Olney Lady Tigers in an LIC Conference match inside Ron Herrin Gymnasium. Marshall came in with a record of 15-6, while Richland County came in with a record of 7-10.
The Lions began the match strong while steadily building a ten-point cushion to lead 14-4. Marshall maintained that lead until finally settling on an eight-point win in the opening set by the score of 25-17. In the second set, Olney took an early lead before Marshall righted the ship and tied it up at 5 apiece. Marshall then went ahead and stayed that way, leading at one point by five (20-15), before Olney mounted a comeback to trim their deficit to one point with the score 21-20. The Lions never let the Lady Tigers achieve a tie, although the home side got within one point three times (21-20, 23-22, and 24-23) down the stretch. In the end, a last gasp attempt to tie the set at 24 ended when an Olney strike went into the net, and Marshall won the second set by the score of 25-23 to defeat Olney two sets to none.
In the opening set, an ace served by Lauren English and a tip winner by Harper Richardson helped Marshall double up Olney with the score 6-3. With the Lions ahead 8-4, Harper Richardson stepped up to the serving line, and when the dust settled after she served three aces among her seven straight serves, Marshall now led 14-4.
Later in the set, Lilly Ross scored a kill before Ali Sheets served an ace and Lauren English scored a winner to give the Lions a 20-9 advantage. Three kills by Harper Richardson highlighted the final phase of Set #1 as Marshall won 25-17 while leading from start to finish.
In the early going of the second set, Olney held their largest lead of the match at 3-1 before Marshall came back to tie the set at 5 when Ellie Delp scored a kill. The Lions immediately went ahead 6-5 when Harper Richardson scored a kill from the right side, then Richardson scored another kill to give the Lions an 8-7 lead.
Marshall eventually built a four-point lead when Harper Richardson scored on a tip to make it 12-8, then McKenzie Davis scored on a tip to make it 13-9. Lauren English then stepped up to the serving line and promptly served an ace to give Marshall what turned out to be its largest lead of the set at five with the score 14-9. After Olney cut the Marshall lead to three (14-11), a block by Harper Richardson and Lilly Ross at the net made it 15-11. Two points later, Libby Huisinga blocked an Olney kill attempt at the net for Marshall to maintain their four-point lead at 16-12.
Olney then outscored Marshall 8-5 to trim the Marshall lead down to one point with the score 21-20. A kill by Libby Huisinga and a tip by McKenzie Davis were the only individual points for the Lions during the Olney run.
With the Lions clinging to their one-point lead at 21-20, they turned to Lilly Ross, who came through with a big kill in the middle of the floor to make it 22-20. Marshall then went ahead 23-20 before Olney came back with two straight points to make it 23-22. Marshall then went up 24-22 when Olney had four hits during a volley, but the Lady Tigers won the next point to get it to 24-23 in favor of Marshall. On the next volley, an Olney strike went into the net, and Marshall came away by winning the second set 25-23 to take the match in straight sets.
With the win, Marshall’s record improves to 16-6 on the season and 3-0 in conference play. With the loss, Olney falls to 7-11 and 0-2 in conference play.
In the junior varsity match, Marshall had trouble getting on track in the first set, but they played much better in the second set. Leading at one point 18-17 before losing the set 25-22 losing the match in straight sets. Scoring for the JV Lions were Libby Huisinga, Lauren Richards, Aubree Shaffer, Lexi Mason, Breck Bishop, Charlee Francis, and Olivia Strohm (who served three straight aces in the second set to propel Marshall to its 18-17 lead).
Marshall plays its next match when the Lions host Paris in a key LIC Conference matchup this Thursday, October 1st. The JV match inside McNary Gymnasium is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM with the varsity contest to follow. It’s Pink Out Night in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so please wear something pink to honor all the warriors lost and warriors still fighting this dreaded disease.
Currently, Paris is projected to be a higher seed in the Taylorville sub-sectional. Although the IHSA computer ratings have no bearing on actual seedings, the rankings are for informational purposes only. As of press time, Paris is rated as the second seed in the sub-sectional, while Marshall is rated fifth in the same sub-sectional. Actual seedings and pairings will be posted as they become available, but this match will go a long way in determining state tournament seedings. Come out to McNary Gym and join the very loud and proud Marshall student section.
Varsity Statistical Highlights
Aces - Richardson 3, English 2, Sheets 1
Assists - Ross 6, Richardson 4
Blocks - Richardson 4, Huisinga 2, Ross 1
Digs - Sheets 7, English 4
Kills - Richardson 7, Ross 4
Harper Richardson (3) beats the Olney block at the net during Marshall's win
Ellie Delp (10) drives a kill past the Olney block during Marshall's win in straight sets
Lilly Ross goes up high to score a kill against Richland County
Marshall's Aubrie Ockerman dives and keeps the point alive against Olney in the JV match
