BELLEVILLE – The Edwardsville High boys volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a 25-14, 25-21 loss to O’Fallon in the IHSA sectional semifinals Friday evening at Belleville East High School.
The Tigers had split a pair of Southwestern Conference matches to the Panthers in the regular season, with each team winning at home, but in the sectional, the Panthers used a 5-0 run in the first game to go on to the win, and in the second game, Edwardsville got to within 16-14, but a rotation error proved costly, and O’Fallon was able to go on to take the win.
“O’Fallon played great, they had very few flaws,” Edwardsville head coach Scott Smith said, “and it’s very difficult to beat a team like that.”
The match was very well-played on both sides, with the defenses controlling the play, and Smith was very proud of his players.
“It was back-and-forth, with really great defense on both sides,” Smith said, “and I’m really proud of my guys.”
Max Sellers led the Tigers with seven kills, while Josh Whittenburg had five, with Brock Hennig having four service points in the match and Sellers having three.
O’Fallon is now 25-11, and will play Minooka, a 14-25, 26-24, 25-21 winner over New Lenox Lincoln-Way West in the other semifinal at Plainfield North, at East on Tuesday evening, while the Tigers finish their season 19-9. Edwardsville will lose only one senior, Frankie Holloway, and Smith is already looking forward to next season.
“We can only improve,” Smith said, “and we can only get better.”
Smith’s favorite memory of the 2019 season will be the Tigers’ showing at the Joliet West tournament, where the Tigers played well against some of Chicagoland’s best teams.
“Maybe the Joliet West tournament,” Smith said, “where the boys played and beat some teams for the first time.”
The outlook for the 2020 season is very bright with all the returning players, and Smith is very proud of the team’s efforts all season long.
“The boys improved from day one,” Smith said, “and they continued to improve as the season went on. It’s just a great group of boys, and I’m very proud of them.”
