EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville High School girls volleyball team lost in its season opener on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, to O’Fallon 25-19, 19-25, 11-25 in a competitive match played at Liberty Middle School’s Gym in Edwardsville.
The match was originally scheduled for Lucco-Jackson Gym at Edwardsville High School, however, it was moved to Liberty due to a leak that sprung at the Edwardsville gym, causing the floor to become unplayable.
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The Tigers' Savannah Ford and Madelyn Ohlau both had spectacular matches. Ford had six service points, including two aces and 10 assists. Ford also contributed 10 digs. Madelyn Ohlau had seven kills and had eight digs. Clara Cunningham had six kills and Livia Goebel had five kills for Edwardsville. Cunningham also added five service points. Lucy Malawy had 10 assists.
The Panthers got seven kills from O'Fallon's Cecelia Venne who was dominant at the net. Teammate Kylie Guetterman added six kills.
The Tigers seized the momentum in the opening set, taking the lead on a 3-0 run after the set was even at 18-18. Edwardsville pulled away after that and took the set 25-19.
In the second set, O’Fallon went on an 11-2 run after the set was tied 13-13 to take control of the set, going on to tie the match with a 25-19 win. In the third and final set, it was all Panthers, going out to an early 7-2 lead, then going up 12-4 and 18-5 before taking the set and the match 25-11.
O’Fallon is now 2-0 on the season, and plays at Belleville East at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, then plays twice on Friday, against Nashville at 6 p.m., and Bloomington at 8 p.m.
The Tigers start off 0-1, and are at Collinsville at 6 p.m. Thursday, then host their invitational tournament this weekend, going up against Washington at 5 p.m. on Friday, then meeting Freeburg at 7 p.m., then play Orion on Saturday at 9 a.m., to finish the group stage.
Edwardsville Head Girls Volleyball Coach Heather Ohlau said: "Last night's match was our first test of the training and work we have been putting in. Our adrenaline and energy pushed us through the first set. O'Fallon's defense did a great job last night. This match lets us know where we are currently at and the skills we need to work on to improve."
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
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