Article and photos by T Ray Henry
On Tuesday, October 27th, the Marshall High School volleyball team, seeded second in the St. Teresa (Decatur) Regional of the IHSA Class 2A state tournament, lost its semifinal match against Maroa-Forsyth, which was seeded third, in straight sets 25-19 and 25-13 to end their season with a record of 20-10. Maroa-Forsyth advanced to the regional championship match versus #1 seed Taylorville on Thursday night.
In the opening set, Marshall fell behind 5-1 before a kill by Harper Richardson got the Lions on track. A tip winner by Richardson, followed by a kill by Lilly Ross and a tip winner by Lauren English tied the set at 7. After Maroa-Forsyth went ahead 8-7, Lilly Ross tipped over a winner to tie it back up at 8 apiece.
The Lions got behind 12-9, then they came back with two straight points, the last point coming on an ace served by Lilly Ross to get within one at 12-11. Maroa-Forsyth then went on a 5-1 run to make the score 17-12 before Marshall made a mini-run on Libby Huisinga’s tip winner to make the score 18-15. A tip winner by Ellie Delp, a kill by Lilly Ross, and a tip winner by Harper Richardson were the highlighted the rest of the way for Marshall as Maroa-Forsyth took the first set by the score of 25-19.
A tip winner by Harper Richardson helped propel Marshall out to a 4-1 lead in the second set before Maroa-Forsyth came back and tied it up at 4. Marshall stayed out in front or remain tied until the score was 8-8. An ace served by McKenzie Davis, a tip winner by Libby Huisinga, and a kill by Harper Richardson kept them close. When Maroa-Forsyth went ahead 9-8, the Lions could only generate five more points as they fell 25-13 to lose the match in straight sets. Scoring for Marshall the rest of the way were Lilly Ross with a kill, Ross and Lauren English combining on a block, and Harper Richardson, who scored Marshall’s last point of the season with a kill.
With so many things this squad achieved this season, from winning a preseason tournament over the summer, to winning the Robinson Invitational, and having won 20 matches in back-to-back seasons in school history, the 2026 Marshall Lions volleyball team has many, many accomplishments to be proud of. The leadership of this senior group (Harper Richardson, McKenzie Davis, Ellie Delp, Lauren English, and Nya Engledow have laid the foundation for future Lions to pick up the baton and continue the recent years of success this group helped create.
“I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end, the way it all would go
Our lives, it’s better left to chance – I could have missed the pain,
But I’d have had to miss – the dance…” Tony Arata
Harper Richardson goes high above the net to smash a kill versus Maroa-Forsyth
Lilly Ross drives a kill through the Maroa-Forsyth block
Lauren English tips a winner over the outstretched arms of Maroa-Forsyth's blockers
Nya Engledow gets the return for Marshall
