BREESE - Breese Mater Dei Catholic, the two-time defending IHSA Class 2A state champions, used a great offensive game to keep Edwardsville on its toes, and were able to take a 25-20, 25-18 straight set win over the Tigers in a girls volleyball match Monday evening, Oct. 20, 2025, at the Mater Dei gym.
Edwardsville was coming off a 3-2 showing at a tournament in Chicagoland, losing to Yorkville 25-22, 22-25, 16-14, defeating Aurora East 25-12, 25-12, and Plainfield East 25-14, 25-20, lost to Oswego 27-25, 25-20, and bounced back in their final match to defeat Roselle Lake Park 27-25, 25-20. The Tigers played a good match, but Mater Dei showed why they're defending champions.
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"Mater Dei is a back-to-back state championship team for a reason," said Edwardsville head coach Heather Ohlau. 'They were able to keep our defense guessing and attackers working to find the floor."
Madelyn Ohlau, Savannah Ford, and Eva Eberlin all served up four points each for the Tigers, while Ohlau and Ciara Cunningham had six kills each, Livia Goebel had six blocks, and Ford, Lucy Malawy, and Eberlin had six digs each.
The Knights are now 24-6, and meet Fairfield on the road Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.. then compete in a tournament this weekend, playing Quincy Notre Dame Catholic Friday afternoon at 2:15 p.m., then are set to play twice on Saturday, against Macomb and 9:45 a.m, and Decatur St. Teresa Catholic at 10:30 a.m.
Edwardsville is now 21-11, and hosts East St. Louis in their home finale Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., then concludes the regular season at Belleville West Thursday at 5:45 p.m.
Both teams then start the playoffs next week, with Mater Dei playing in the Class 3A Mt. Vernon regional as the top seed, and meet the winner of the host Rams and Cahokia Oct. 28 at 6 p.m., with a win sending the Knights to the final on Oct 30 against the winner of Centralia and Carbondale in a 6 p.m. start.
The Tigers will compete in the Class 4A Granite City regional, also as the top seed, where they'll play the host Warriors Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. A win puts Edwardsville into the final on Oct. 30, also at 6 p.m., against the winner of Quincy and Belleville West.
