ALTON – Rachel Pranger has been a key player for Edwardsville's volleyball team since she burst onto the scene in the fall of 2014.
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Like her fellow seniors, Pranger has made many contributions to the Tiger program in her time on the team, but she believes the chemistry that has developed among the players is playing a key role in the Tigers' success on the court this season.
It showed through in the Tigers' 25-10, 25-15 Southwestern Conference win at Alton Thursday night.
“I think as a whole, we've gotten better,” Pranger said after the win at the Redbird Nest. “We've been working hard in practice and it's been helping us definitely. The younger girls fit in really well; we welcomed them in and we expect as much from them as we expect as much from us.”
The Tigers were hitting on all cylinders for the most part Thursday. “We definitely clicked tonight,” Pranger said. “Everyone played really well – our defense did amazing, our setter Rachel (Verdun) did amazing and the hitters were putting the balls down.”
The Tigers are hoping to make a deep run in the IHSA Class 4A playoffs that start Oct. 23. “We hope to get far, so we'll see,” Pranger said. “We'll take it one game at a time; we still have to play two more games next week (at Breese Mater Dei and at home against Belleville West) and a tournament (in Chicagoland), so we'll definitely grow as a team.”
The team's chemistry has played a big role in EHS' season so far. “We definitely work well together,” Pranger said. “A lot of us have been playing together for awhile now, so I think that helps a lot and the new girls have really stepped it up; they've been welcomed to the team and have played really well with us.
“We love each other on and off the court, so I think that helps us too, that we're such a close-knit friends and family.”
