On Thursday, October 22nd, the Marshall High School volleyball team traveled to Lawrenceville to play the final match of the 2026 regular season. The Lions came in with a record of 20-8, while the Indians came in with a record of 27-7. With Newton sweeping Paris in two quick sets midway through this match being played by Marshall and Lawrenceville, the motivation of playing for a share of the conference championship faded, and it showed on the floor as Marshall fell to the hosts in three sets.
After falling behind 3-2 in the opening set, the Lions never trailed the rest of the way in winning the set by the score of 26-24. In the second set, the teams were all tied up at 22 before Lawrenceville, which benefitted from a two-point swing at a critical juncture, scored three straight points to win the set 25-22 and send the match to a third and deciding set.
In a forgettable third set for Marshall, the Lions let the Indians jump out to an early 7-0 lead. Marshall wasn’t competitive at all throughout the final set, and Lawrenceville won the third by the score of 25-14, taking the match two sets to one.
In the junior varsity match, an ever-improving Marshall squad closed out its season with a straight set loss to the Indians 25-17 and 25-23.
Scoring for Marshall’s varsity squad were Lilly Ross, Harper Richardson, Ellis Delp, Ali Sheets, Lauren English, McKenzie Davis, and Libby Huisinga.
Lions Statistical Leaders
Aces - Davis 1, Delp 1, Richardson 1, Ross 1, Sheets 1
Assists - Ross 17, Richardson 14
Blocks - Ross 5, Davis 1
Digs - Richardson 10, Sheets 9, Delp 8, Ross 8
Kills - Richardson 16, Ross 13, Davis 2, Delp 1, English 1, Huisinga 1
Scoring for Marshall’s junior varsity squad were Aubree Shaffer, Allie Thompson, Lauren Richards, Libby Huisinga, and Breck Bishop.
With the varsity squad finishing the season 20-9 and a third-place finish in the conference standings, the team must now put it behind them and turn the page to next week’s state tournament and the IHSA Class 2A Decatur St. Teresa Regional. Although Marshall is seeded second in the region, they are the third highest ranked team behind Taylorville and Maroa-Forsyth (via MaxPreps). In their first match, Marshall is scheduled to play Maroa-Forsyth in the regional semifinal round at St. Teresa High School in Decatur this coming Tuesday, October 27th at 7:00 PM. Maroa-Forsyth has won two straight regional championships coming into this tournament. The Lions better be up to this big challenge and be ready, because it’s win or go home. Do the Lions want to make it to the regional championship and compete for the first regional title in school history? We will find out the answer to that question Tuesday night.
McKenzie Davis goes up for the attack
The Lions celebrate their first set win 26-24 at Lawrenceville
Ellie Delp drives the ball down the middle so score for Marshall
Harper Richardson scores a laser down the line for Marshall against Lawrenceville
Lilly Ross (2) goes way above the net to strike a kill against Lawrenceville
