EAST ALTON/WOOD RIVER- It was clear when Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” came over the gymnasium speakers at East Alton Wood River High School, there was a rivalry at hand in the night’s volleyball game against Roxana High School.
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At Tuesday’s game, the Oilers squared off against their local rival Shells in three games that showcased their freshman, junior varsity and varsity squads.
As the Oilers and Shells varsity teams began their first set, it was clear that the Oilers were in it to win it. They gained an early lead and quickly rose their score to 16-10. Shells coach Mike McKinney called a timeout to assess the situation with his girls.
All the while, EAWR senior Brittany Grayson (#21) served up some heat for the Oilers throughout the game. She threw some fire in the faces of her competitors on the other side of the net in the form of calculated and tough serves, making it difficult for the Shells to handle the ball once it came to their court. Along with a great offensive push made by her team, the Oilers raised their score to 23-10.
Finally, Roxana picked up the game, racking up a few points quickly. However, the Oilers were not finished. After some back and forth between the teams, the Shells couldn’t keep up with EAWR. For the first game, the Oilers took the win of the first game with a score of 25-15.
“During the first game, we didn’t have the enthusiasm and weren’t moving as well as we’d liked to,” Roxana Coach Mike McKinney said, “and I said, ‘you know what, if you’re going to be here, let’s go ahead and make it three games, build your stats up and get a win.’”
The second game was extremely close throughout its entirety. The points just kept coming from both teams. The back and forth was intense, and the close nature of the match just made the anxiety of the crowd grow even higher. EAWR’s fan section was extremely vocal, but the smaller, visiting section from Roxana did not let that deter them from cheering back and making even more noise.
The intense match kept getting closer and closer. Finally, the game tied at 24-24. The Oilers made it to 25 points first, but without the two-point winning margin, they could not celebrate too soon. Roxana then went on to tie the game again at 25-25. The Shells went on to capture the 26th point, and finally scored the final point that allowed them to win the second match at 27-25.
Not only did this match show how equally matched and determined both of these teams are, it showed how much a rivalry can truly change the game.
The start to the third and final set was very reminiscent of the second. The Shells put their defense to the test compared to the scrappy serving and incredible offense of the Oilers.
Ultimately, the Roxana Shells defeated the EAWR Oilers in the best of three sets with a 25-21 victory.
“Wood River did an awesome job of digging balls and playing defense,” McKinney said, “We had to earn the win tonight.”
The Shells did in fact earn the win that night against an extremely tough and dedicated Oilers team. Although this was a loss for the Oilers, the winner of the evening was the spirit of the rivalry that will continue on with the traditions of the local high schools.
