ROXANA – Both Roxana and Civic Memorial swept their respective groups to advance to Saturday’s Gold bracket semifinals on the first day of the Roxana girls volleyball Invitational Monday afternoon and evening at Larry Milazzo Gym, the auxiliary gym at Roxana High School and the Roxana Junior High School gym.
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The Shells finished in first place in Group A, winning all three of their matches over Bunker Hill, Gillespie and Valmeyer, while the Eagles defeated Auburn, Hardin Calhoun and Dupo to win Group B.
In the first games of Group A, Roxana defeated the Minutemaids 25-13, 25-10, while the Pirates defeated the Miners 25-19, 23-25, 15-10. In the second round of the group, the Shells won over Valmeyer 25-11, 25-15, while Gillespie broke a long losing streak dating back to the end of the 2017 season by winning over Bunker Hill 25-21, 25-20. The Miners had gone 0-28 last season.
In the final round of Group A, Roxana won the group with a 25-12, 25-9 win over Gillespie, while the Minutemaids recovered to defeat Valmeyer 25-22, 16-25, 15-8.
The final standings in Group A showed the Shells winning the group with a 3-0 record, and Valmeyer, Gillespie and Bunker Hill all going 1-2. The Pirates won a tiebreak to finish second in the group, the Miners ended up third and the Minutemaids finished fourth.
In the first round of matches in Group B, CM defeated Auburn 25-17, 12-25, 15-9, while the Warriors won over Dupo 25-19, 25-23. In the second round, the Eagles won over Calhoun 25-13, 25-15, and it was Auburn over the Tigers 25-11, 25-11. In the final round, Auburn defeated Calhoun 27-25, 25-17, and the Eagles winning over Dupo 25-18, 25-13.
The final standings in Group B had the Eagles sweeping the group at 3-0, while Auburn was second at 2-1, the Warriors came in third at 1-2, and the Tigers were fourth at 0-3.
Group play continues at the three sites on Tuesday, with Group C featuring Father McGivney Catholic, Piasa Southwestern, East Alton-Wood River and Granite City, while Group D has Marquette Catholic, Jersey, Brussels and Mt. Olive. Play begins at 5 p.m., with the group winners advancing to the Gold bracket of the tournament. The Shells will play the Group D winner Saturday at 11 a.m, while the Eagles meet the Group C winner at 12 noon. The final is set for 2 p.m. at Larry Milazzo Gym.
Meanwhile, the Silver bracket for the second-place finishers will go off at Roxana Junior High, with the Pirates meeting the Group D runner-up at 11 a.m., and Auburn meeting the second-place finisher in Group C at 12 noon. The Silver bracket final is at 2 p.m.
The Bronze bracket for the third-place teams will be played at both Milazzo Gym and the Auxiliary gym. Gillespie plays against the third-place team in Group D at Milazzo Gym, while Calhoun meets the third-place team in Group C in the auxiliary gym, with both matches starting at 9 a.m. The final in the Bronze bracket will be played at Milazzo Gym at 10 a.m.
In the fourth-place bracket, the Minutemaids will play the fourth place team from Group D at 9 a.m., while the Tigers meet the fourth-place finisher in Group C at 10 a.m., with both matches being played at Roxana Junior High. The fourth-place bracket final will be at 12 noon in the auxiliary gym.
