Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
EDWARDSVILLE – Edwardsville's girls volleyball team opened the Southwestern Conference schedule in fine fashion at Lucco-Jackson Gym Thursday evening by making short work of Granite City as the Tigers scored a 25-6, 25-10 win over the Warriors.
The Tigers went to 10-3 overall on the season, 1-0 in the SWC; the Warriors, who are in the midst of a 15-matches-in-12-days stretch, fell to 6-11 overall, 0-1 in the league.
Edwardsville came out and played a fairly clean match against the Warriors, EHS coach Jami Parker felt. “That was the goal tonight,” Parker said, “come out and play clean; we wanted to work on a couple of sets we have had trouble connecting on recently in matches and in practice and they did that as well, and those were running nice, so it was a good night all around.
“Our serving was good, our offense was good, our defense was good and we had some good touches on blocks, so that's a nice start to the evening.”
Getting off to a good start on the league schedule was important, as well, Parker felt. “It's important, and I know I say it a lot,” Parker said. “Every match in this conference counts; you play everybody one time and every match could make or break the conference.
“There's still a lot of pressure going into these games to play clean, do what you need to do and win every match. The girls all around the court played a great game – it was a good way to get started in the conference.”
“They're good, and you have to appreciate what they have on the floor,” said Warrior coach Ginger Harrison. “Watching Kate Martin is always exciting, Rachel Pranger and Megan Woll (who recently became the Tigers' all-time digs leader); as another coach, you appreciate players that work that hard and who are that good. They're a good program; they're fun to watch.
“At the end of Saturday (when the Warriors finish up their own tournament at Granite City's Memorial Gym), we will have played 15 games in 12 days; we're a little out of gas at the moment – mentally, physically, and this was a tough match to come into regardless whether you've that many games or not. We've had a lot of tough, close matches lately and that, mentally, has been hard on us and we're working on learning how to get past those kind of moments. They're striving to be better and they will be – they come out and give me their best every time, and that's all I can ask for.”
The Tigers came out of the gates fast and never looked back the entire evening. Pranger led the Tigers with 10 kills and two blocks, with Martin contributing six kills and two blocks while Rachel Verdun had 10 assists and three service aces with Alexa Harris picked up six kills on the evening.
The Tigers head to Belleville Althoff for a 7 p.m. Tuesday match before heading to East St. Louis for a 4:30 p.m. league match Sept. 21.
More like this:
