ALTON - Edwardsville's girls volleyball team overcame another slow start to finish strong and got contributions from the entire team as the Tigers went on to a 25-14, 25-14 win over Alton in a Southwestern Conference match Thursday evening at the Redbirds Nest.
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With the win, Edwardsville remains undefeated at 6-0, and is in a very good position to clinch the number one seed and home court all the way through in the Southwestern Conference tournament, set for April 6-8.
The Tigers fought off another slow start to find their rhythm and eventually took control of the match.
"We started off slow again," said Edwardsville head coach Heather Ohlau, "but picked up the pace and finished strong. We got a lot of underclassmen in, and we played a lot of different players."
Already playing without Emma Garner and Storm Suhre, who are out with injuries, Edwardsville also played without hitter Alexa Harris, who had a sore shoulder. Ohlau felt players such as Rihanna Huebner, Gabby Saye, freshman Sydney Davis and Isabella O'Day, making her varsity debut, stood out during the match.
"It was as all-around team effort again," Ohlau said. "We've got players stepping up and performing at a very high level."
Kaitlyn Conway served up five points for the Tigers on the evening, with Davis serving for six points, scoring an ace and also had seven kills and a block, Lexie Griffin had two points, a block and 17 assists, Maddie Grimes had a block, Huebner had four points, an ace, six kills and two blocks, O'Day came up with five points, two aces and seven blocks in an outstanding debut, Saye had 10 kills and a block, Morgan Tulacro served up three points with an ace and seven assists, Madison Vieth had three points, an ace and five assists and Ava Waltenberger had both a kill and a block. In addition, Saye had six digs, while Davis had five.
For the Redbirds, Grace Carter came up with a kill, while Olivia Ducey had two points, an ace and five assists, Naomi Fader served up one point, which was an ace, Taylor Freer scored three points with an ace, a block and five assists, Renee Raglin had four kills and a block, Taryn Wallace had a kill, Alyssa Wisniewski also had a kill and Brooke Wolff also served up a point, which was an ace, to go along with three kills and a block.
The Tigers have one regular season match remaining, at East St. Louis on Tuesday night, before heading into the SWC tournament. Ohlau is hoping to finish the regular season on a strong note heading into the postseason tournament.
"I hope that we can start off a little bit stronger," Ohlau said, " and I hope that we mimic our play in the conference tournament."
Clinching the top seed and home court throughout would be a big advantage for the Tigers in the tournament.
"I think we'd have an advantage," Ohlau said. "We'd have a higher fan base percentage, and it would be the last time for our seniors to be on their home court. which is a big motivating factor."
Ohlau also knows that things could change at any moment, and knows her team will be ready to face the challenges ahead.
"As of right now," Ohlau said. "But anything could change at the drop of the hat."
Colin Feeney also contributed to this story.
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