ROXANA – Winning the Roxana Girls Volleyball Tournament has been something the Shells have strived for since the tournament started. On Saturday, the Shells’ girls accomplished their long-time goal with two wins over top-notch squads.
The Roxana girls volleyball team won its own season-opening invitational tournament at Larry Milazzo Memorial Gym, defeating Hardin Calhoun in the semifinal 25-17, 25-22, then won the final over Valmeyer 17-25, 26-24, 25-18.
The Shells start the season out 5-0, having swept their group stage matches on Monday to get to the championship bracket.
In the semifinal against the Warriors, C.J. Ross had 12 assists, while Lily Daugherty had five kills and Destiny Vuylsteke added three kills, Kaylyn Dixon had 10 digs and Ross came up with seven and Genna Pruitt had three aces.
In the final against the Pirates, Ross again led in assists, this time with 21, Daugherty had seven kills, Peyton Petit had six kills, Abby Gehrs came up with five kills, Vuylsteke had four kills and both Laynie Gehrs and Calista Stahlhut had three kills each. In addition, Dixon had 10 digs, Petit had six digs and Pruitt had six digs and three aces.
Roxana head girls volleyball coach Andrea Keller said her girls were determined and “incredibly motivated to win this year and they brought so much intensity and a strong desire to make their goal a reality.”
“It was a complete team effort with all of the girls stepping up and playing their hearts out,” she added. “Each and every one of them rose to the challenge and worked together to reach their goal. Years of hard work, dedication to the game, and many coaches along the way from the elementary, club and high school, and to all helped these girls to reach this accomplishment and it is going to be amazing to see what else is in store for them throughout the season.”
Roxana’s record is 5-0.
Both Dixon and Daugherty were named to the All-Tournament team along with Markee Voelker and Jayna Kreckel of Valmeyer, Delani Klaas and Kate Zipperich of Calhoun, Meredith Brueckner of Civic Memorial, Kari Krueger of Jersey, Lauren Flowers of Carrollton and Kylie Murray of Marquette Catholic.
In the other semifinal, Valmeyer defeated Marquette Catholic 25-13, 25-16 and in the third place match, the Warriors defeated the Explorers to claim third.
In the fifth-place bracket, Civic Memorial won over Father McGivney Catholic 25-20, 25-27, 15-12, while Jersey defeated Auburn 21-25, 25-14, 15-10. The seventh-place match saw the Trojans win over the Griffins 25-22, 11-25, 15-12 and the Eagles won the fifth-place match over the Panthers 25-20, 25-23.
In the ninth-place bracket, the semifinals saw Gillespie win over Granite City 25-17, 25-22, and Carrollton win over Greenfield Northwestern 25-18, 25-18. In the 11th-place match, the Tigers won over the Warriors 25-23, 25-21, and the Hawks took ninth place over the Miners 25-15, 25-13.
In the 13th-place bracket, East Alton-Wood River won over Dupo 25-10, 25-18 and Piasa Southwestern won over Mt. Olive 25-13, 26-24. In the 15th-place match, the Wildcats defeated the Tigers 25-22. 25-21 and the Piasa Birds won over the Oilers to take 13th place 25-12, 25-22.
Both Dixon and Daugherty were named to the All-Tournament team along with Markee Voelker and Jayna Kreckel of Valmeyer, Delani Klaas and Kate Zipperich of Calhoun, Meredith Brueckner of Civic Memorial, Kari Krueger of Jersey, Lauren Flowers of Carrollton and Kylie Murray of Marquette Catholic. C.J. Ross of the Shells was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
