EDWARDSVILLE — Edwardsville dropped the opening set but kept extending points Thursday evening, Sept. 3, 2026, rallying for a 24-26, 27-25, 26-24 girls volleyball win over Belleville West in a Southwestern Conference match and the Tigers’ home opener at Lucco-Jackson Gym.
The Tigers improved to 2-0 by answering a first-set loss with a two-point win in the second set, then holding off a Belleville West rally in the decisive third.
“All three sets were a battle on both sides,” Edwardsville coach Heather Ohlau said. “Both sides fought every single point, kept the ball alive, both defenses were scrappy, they kept the ball up, hitters were finding the floor, mixing up our hitters, both sides. It was just a fun match, but I’m glad we came out on top.”
Belleville West rallied to take the opening set after Edwardsville had led for much of it. The Maroons took an early lead before the Tigers came back to tie, then went ahead 9-5 behind the play of Madelyn Ohlau. Edwardsville maintained the lead through much of the set before West came back as Mia Leech’s serving helped the Maroons force a tie late. The rest of the set went back and forth before Belleville West took a one-set lead.
“Anytime you lose the first set, it could go one of two ways,” Heather Ohlau said. “You a be in panic mode, and try to overdo things, and it not work, or you can settle in with confidence, and know we’ve got this, and I’m glad that our team, tonight, had that second mentality. The first set, we lost by two, it was right there, and then fought back, won the second set by two, and then, the third set was a battle as well.”
Belleville West moved ahead 5-3 in the second set behind the serving of Molly Duncan and kills from Chloe Schutzenhofer. Edwardsville came back, and the teams traded points and leads through a competitive set. Players on both sides made defensive saves, and hitters from both teams found points. Edwardsville then came back from match point to win the set 27-25 and tie the match.
West won the toss to begin the third set and served first, taking a 6-3 lead. Edwardsville fought back to tie the set at 16-16, and the teams again exchanged the lead. The Tigers tied it at 24-24, then scored the final two points to win the set 26-24 and the match.
“Anytime you walk away with a win, you can be happy,” Ohlau said, “but more than just the win, just how we were able to mix up our offense, and players stepped up defensively. Just an all-around team effort, with energy and hustle, and just perseverance.”
The Southwestern Conference has expanded this year with Granite City returning and Triad and Mascoutah being added. Ohlau said the additions strengthen the schedule.
“It just adds a few talented teams that we’re going to have to battle to,” Ohlau said. “And so, it just makes our conference stronger, and makes us able to have to battle a little bit more competitively, and fight for everything we get.”
Edwardsville hosts the Tiger Classic this weekend, then hosts O’Fallon at 6 p.m. Tuesday and plays at Mascoutah at 6 p.m. next Thursday.
“It was a nice home win, opening match,” Ohlau said, “and now, we have our Tiger Classic that we’ve got to get geared up for, so we have that momentum going in, and that confidence, have a couple of matches, so, we’re ready to go.”
