When the Marshall High School Volleyball schedule has been released in recent years, the Lions are scheduled to go through back-to-back-to-back matches against Tigers during the latter part of the season. A trifecta where Marshall faces Richland County, Paris, and Westville in succession has dotted the schedule during the past three seasons. If not for a midweek tilt in Robinson 11 days ago, the Lions would have added Hutsonville-Palestine to the string and made it four consecutive matches against Tigers.
On Monday, October 6th, the Marshall Lions welcomed the Westville High School Tigers to McNary Gymnasium for a non-conference volleyball doubleheader between two teams who found out last week they have been assigned to the same sub-sectional of the Class 2A state tournament by the IHSA later this month. Marshall entered the contest with a record of 17-6, while the Tigers came in with a record of 19-4.
In a well-played match between two of the better volleyball squads in the area, Marshall took advantage of their versatility in all phases to defeat Westville in straight sets by identical scores of 25-19. In the junior varsity match, Marshall defeated Westville’s JV squad in straight sets 25-19 and 25-18.
In the first set of the varsity match, Marshall got out to an early 2-0 lead with a tip winner by Harper Richardson and a kill from Ella Mattas before Westville tied it up at 2. The teams battled back and forth to tie again at 4 and 5 apiece. Avery Cornwell served an ace and Lilly Ross scored a kill during this stretch. A Lilly Ross tip winner put the Big Red ahead 6-5 which began a 10-2 run for Marshall to make the score 15-7. Scoring for Marshall during the big run were Lilly Ross with a tip winner and a kill, Lilly Ross and Harper Richardson combining on a block for a point, and Ellie Delp with a kill.
The Lions kept the Tigers at a safe margin on a kill by Ella Mattas and a tip winner from Harper Richardson. Westville trimmed the Marshall lead to 5 with the score 24-19 before the Lions’ Lilly Ross put an exclamation point on the first set with a kill, and Marshall took the first set by the score of 25-19.
Marshall kept the pressure on Westville during the second set, with crisp passing and setting by Harper Richardson and Addy Ross. The Marshall defense along the back row (Avery Cornwell, Anna Daugherty, Ali Sheets) was saving returns and digs, keeping the Lions in long rallies. The start of the second set began the same as the first set as Marshall pushed out to a 2-0 lead with a Harper Richardson ace. During the first set, Westville came back and took the lead with the score 3-2, 4-2, and 4-3. Those were the only times the Tigers held the lead in Set #1. In Set #2, Marshall would not allow the Tigers to ever get an equalizer the entire set. A combination block for a point by Addy Ross and Lilly Ross, a tip winner by Harper Richardson, an ace served by Ella Mattas, and a kill by Lilly Ross gave the Lions an 8-3 lead.
Harper Richardson nailed a kill before Lilly Ross served an ace to give the Big Red an 10-4 advantage. An ace later served by Anna Daugherty gave the Lions a six-point lead with the score 12-6. Five straight points scored by Westville trimmed the Marshall lead to one point with the score 12-11. A kill by Ella Mattas helped the Lions open up a three-point lead at 15-12, and kills by Lilly Ross, Ellie Delp, and Harper Richardson fueled a Marshall run for the home team to take a 19-15 lead. Lilly Ross then served another ace to make the score 20-15 as Westville called timeout.
A tip winner by Harper Richardson gave the Lions a 21-15 lead before Westville scored four straight points to trim their deficit to two points with the score 21-19. With Westville holding the serve and the momentum, a big kill by Marshall’s Harper Richardson gave the Lions a 22-19 lead. Anna Daugherty stepped up to the serving line and led the Lions to three straight points to close out the set and the match. Ella Mattas scored a kill to get the Lions to match point, and Marshall won the final point to win the second set by the score of 25-19, taking the match in straight sets over Westville. With the win, Marshall’s record improved to 18-6 on the season, while Westville moved to 19-5.
In the junior varsity match, a much-improved Lions squad used balanced scoring and defense to keep Westville on their heels all match long. In the opening set, Marshall setters Nya Engledow and Lauren Richards kept feeding Lilly Ross, Olivia Strohm, and Aubree Shaffer along the front line for kills and tip winners, while in the second set they fed McKenzie Davis, Ellie Delp, and Shaffer. The back line of Lexi Mason and Ali Sheets had prodigious saves and serves throughout the match to keep the Lions out in front of the Tigers.
Marshall plays their next match tonight (Tuesday, October 7th) when the Lions travel to Bridgeport to take on the Red Hill High School Salukis in a non-conference doubleheader. Junior Varsity action is scheduled to begin at 6:00 PM with the varsity match to follow.
