EDWARDSVILLE – The Belleville West girls volleyball team went on a late 7-0 run in the third and deciding set, going on to win the IHSA Class 4A regional title over the Tigers 25-23, 17-25, 25-18 in a closely contested and very entertaining match Thursday night, Oct. 31, 2024, at Liberty Middle School in Edwardsville.
The run, which started after the two teams had a long exchange of points that had the scored tied 18-18, allowed the Maroons to win and advance to the Normal Community West sectional, where they will face O’Fallon, a 25-20.25-18 winner over Quincy in the Collinsville final, Tuesday night at a site to be announced at 6 p.m.
A very excited West head coach Me’Ashah Franklin was thrilled to see her team break through to defeat the Tigers after having lost to them twice in the regular season.
“My husband always says it’s very hard to beat a team three times, so, things just went our way today,” Franklin said.
The Maroons were able to take control and serve out the third set and the match came down to one thing for West.
“I think it came down to the girls’ confidence,” Franklin said. “You know, it was kind of wavering now and then, especially in that second set. So for them to bounce back, we’ve been talking about just continuing to fight over and over again, and never giving up, no matter what the circumstances were, and it was able to show up at the end of the game.”
“It just came down to execution,” said Edwardsville head coach Heather Ohlau. “Unfortunately, we were a little off in our passing tonight, which was one of our strengths this season, and Belleville West capitalized on it. They definitely used their big outside, J’la (Sparks), and they were able to use her, and our defense and blocks struggled to keep up with them. With a player like that, you’ve got to be able to control, and tonight was her night.”
Ohlau agreed it’s always difficult to beat a team three times in a season, much less once.
“It’s always hard to beat a team all three times,” Ohlau said. “Even twice in a row is hard to do. And West is always that team that fights to the end. They figure things out, their defense and passing has definitely improved, which we kind of expected. Unfortunately, we just weren’t able to execute the way we should have.”
The Tigers went out to an early 5-1 lead in the opening set, forcing a Maroon time out, and after an exchange that brought the score to 10-6 for Edwardsville, West reeled off three in a row behind the service of Lela Stinson. The Tigers were able to hold off the Maroons, taking the lead back up to 11-9, `and was able to get the lead up to 18-15 and 20-16. with Corrine Leech serving, relled off five in a tow to go ahead 21-20, and after the set was tied 23-23, a kill by Adela Gagen, and a service point by Gagen gave the first set to the Maroons 25-23.
The second set started out with an exchange of points that helped give the Tigers a 6-3 lead, with the Maroons rallying to tie the set 6-6. Edwardsville, with Lucy Malawy and Ciera Cunningham serving, and Madelyn Ohlau delivering key kills, went out to a 14-7 lead, with West rallying to cut the deficit to 16-11. The Tigers extended the edge to 20-12, and scored five of the set’s lat 10 points to take the 25-17 win and tie the match at a set apiece, forcing a deciding third set.
The set started out back and forth, at one point, consecutive point exchanges led to an 18-18 tie. The Maroons took control from there, with Sparks, Aynnie Hamilton, and Stinson delivering key kills, scoring the match’s final seven points, with Sparks delivering the final blow, a perfect kill to give West the 25-19 win and the regional championship 2-1.
The Tigers end their season at 23-14. while the Maroons go to 23-13, and play the Panthers in the sectional semifinal Tuesday night at 6 p.m., the site to be announced. The winner will play in the sectional final/Round of 16 match against the winner of the semifinal between Normal Community and Normal Community West on Nov. 7 at Normal Community West in a 6 p.m. start.
The sectional winner plays the winner of the Chicago Marist Catholic sectional in the super-sectional/quarterfinal match at Richton Park Rich Township on Nov. 11, with the time to be announced. The state finals are set for Nov. 15-16 at CEFCU Arena at Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal.
