Tag: Casey-Westfield

On Thursday, October 16^th, the Marshall High School volleyball squads traveled to western Clark County to take on the Casey-Westfield High School Warriors in a Little Illini Conference doubleheader. Marshall entered the contest with a record of 19-7, while the Warriors came in with a record of 17-9. It was Senior Night for Casey-Westfield, and an alumni volleyball scrimmage between graduates of the two schools to benefit breast cancer awareness.

After the junior varsity squads put on a show with a competitive match, with Marshall coming away with the win in three sets 27-25, 17-25, and 15-10, the varsity teams took to the floor in this Clark County showdown with each school experiencing its most successful season in many years. With both sides already knowing their postseason seedings, opponents, and schedules in the upcoming state tournament, this battle was not only going to decide third place in the conference, but it was also to award bragging rights in the county.

Casey-Westfield jumped out to an early lead in each set, only to have Marshall come back to tie it up in the early stages. The teams would then battle back and forth in front of a large crowd. Neither side wanted to lose this match, but when the dust settled, Marshall came away with a hard-fought, exciting win over Casey-Westfield in straight sets (26-24 and 25-23) to sweep the doubleheader in a vocal, hostile environment which had a tournament feel all match long. With the victory over their rivals, Marshall has now won 20 matches on the season versus 7 losses, and regardless of the results during the final week of the regular season next week, the Lions will finish in sole possession of third place in the LIC. With the loss, Casey-Westfield’s record falls to 17-10.

In the opening set of the varsity match, Marshall’s McKenzie Davis scored the first point for the visitors on a tip winner to tie the set at one apiece. Casey-Westfield moved out in front 4-1 before the Lions got a kill from McKenzie Davis and Ella Mattas and Lilly Ross combined on a block for a point. A kill by Lilly Ross then tied it up at 5. She followed that with another kill, but the Warriors moved ahead 11-6 before Harper Richardson scored a kill and Lilly Ross served an ace to get the Lions within three with the score 11-8. A seesaw battle took place through the middle stages of the first set, with the Lions getting scores from McKenzie Davis with a kill, Ella Mattas with a kill, and Harper Richardson with a tip winner. Casey-Westfield built another 5-point lead to make it 15-10, but the Lions steadily closed the gap with kills by Ella Mattas and Lilly Ross.

The Big Red got it all tied up at 17 for the first time since it was 5-5, then the Lions got kills by Harper Richardson and Ellie Delp to knot it back up at 19. On the next point, Marshall finally saw their first lead of the match at 20-19 when a Casey-Westfield hit went out of bounds. A side out scored for Casey-Westfield tied the set again at 20, but a Marshall side out, followed by a tip winner by Harper Richardson, gave the Lions a two-point lead at 22-20. The play went back and forth until the Warriors tied it again at 23 before Marshall’s McKenzie Davis blocked a kill for a huge point that put the Marshall side ahead 24-23 and needing one more point to win the opening set.

Casey-Westfield got the next point to tied it up again at 24, but consecutive kills by Marshall’s Lilly Ross put the Lions over the top to win the opening set by the score of 26-24.

Marshall started the second set slowly, spotting the home side 4 straight points before the Lions got on the scoreboard. Two kills by Lilly Ross wrapped around a block winner by Lilly Ross and Ellie Delp gave the Lions their first lead of the set at 6-5. Lilly Ross and Addy Ross then combined on another block winner to move the Big Red ahead 7-5 before Casey-Westfield evened the set at 7 by winning the next two points.

The Lions then fed Lilly Ross, for whom Casey-Westfield had no answer at the net. Ross scored three straight points on two kills and a tip winner to give Marshall a 10-7 lead. Another point gave the Lions a four-point lead at 11-7. After the Warriors scored a point to get the score to 11-8, another Lilly Ross kill gave Marshall a 12-8 lead. Aces served by Harper Richardson and Ella Mattas, as well as a kill by McKenzie Davis and another kill by Lilly Ross, highlighted a Marshall run which gave the Big Red a 21-14 lead.

With the Lions four points from taking the match, Casey-Westfield went on an 8-1 run to tie the set at 22. On the next point, Casey-Westfield scored to take a 23-22 lead as Marshall called time out and the home crowd erupted. On the next crucial point, Marshall tied it up at 23 when the Warriors serve went out of bounds. With the score all tied up at 23, Marshall’s Lilly Ross calmly stepped up to the serving line and scored an ace to give the Lions a 24-23 lead. On the next point, the ball went back and forth over the net, with both teams making saves. The point ended when Marshall’s Harper Richardson tipped the ball over the net, and the ball landed in bounds to give the Lions a 25-23 win in the second set, giving the Lions the match two sets to none over Casey-Westfield, spoiling the Warriors Senior Night festivities.

In the first set of the junior varsity match, Marshall got scores from Olivia Strohm (kill), Ellie Delp (kill and a tip winner), and Lilly Ross (tip winner and a kill) to tie it up with Casey-Westfield at 5. Lauren Richards and Nya Engledow set up the hitters on the inside and outside during this stretch. Kills by Aubree Shaffer and Lilly Ross, as well as an ace served by Ross, gave the Lions an 11-8 lead.

During the middle stages of the first set of the JV match, Olivia Strohm (kill), Ellie Delp (tip winner and a kill), and Lilly Ross (tip winner) scored for Marshall before Ellie Delp served an ace to give the Lions an 18-14 advantage. Lilly Ross then scored a kill to give Marshall a 19-14 lead, then she scored another kill which gave Marshall a 21-15 lead.

Lilly Ross served another ace during a 9-3 Casey-Westfield run which tied the set up at 24. The team tied again at 25 before a Casey-Westfield serve out of bounds gave the Lions a one-point lead at 26-25. Lilly Ross quickly ended the first set with an emphatic kill, and Marshall came away with the first set by the score of 27-25.

In the second set of the JV match, Olivia Strohm once again scored Marshall’s first point with a kill. Aubree Shaffer (2 tip winners) and Lauren Richards scored, and the teams were tied at 7 apiece. From that point on, Casey-Westfield began scoring while the Lions went cold on the court. Kills by Aubree Shaffer, McKenzie Davis, and Olivis Strohm were the only individual points for Marshall as Casey-Westfield won the second set 25-17 to set up a third and deciding set to 15 points.

To open the third set, Marshall’s Nya Engledow served six straight points for the Lions to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Olivia Strohm scored a kill during the run, while Lexi Mason moved into the setter position along with Lauren Richards. The Big Red stretched their lead out to 8 points on a combination block by McKenzie Davis and Lauren Richards, followed by a tip winner by Davis to make the score 11-3. The Lions then stayed out in front through the end, and on match point, Aubree Shaffer put an exclamation point on the set and match with a kill to give the Lions the win over Casey-Westfield in three sets.

Marshall (20-7) returns to action next Monday evening when the Lions host Tuscola in a non-conference doubleheader inside McNary Gymnasium. The junior varsity match is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM, with the varsity match to follow. With only two matches remaining in the regular season, let’s get big crowds inside McNary Gym to support these student athletes who are experiencing the best volleyball season in many years.