Play begins in Roxana Volleyball Invitational

ROXANA – The area girls volleyball season got under way in earnest Monday evening and night as the ninth edition of the Roxana Girls Volleyball Invitational tournament opened with five area teams in group play at Larry Milazzo Gym, the Milazzo Gym auxiliary gym and the Roxana Junior High gym.

The host Shells, Jersey, Granite City, McGivney Catholic and Hardin-Calhoun each played three matches in their groups to advance to bracket play set for Saturday morning and afternoon. Teams advanced to the brackets based on where they placed in their groups, with first-place teams facing each other, second-place teams, third-place teams and fourth-place teams going to brackets based on their finish.

Jersey defeated Valmeyer 23-25, 25-20, 15-5 in the opening match (third games in matches were played to 15 by two points), defeated Madison 25-15, 25-13 and Granite City 25-18, 25-18 to win their group; Roxana defeated McGivney 25-19, 25-21; Dupo 25-17, 25-9; and Calhoun 25-17, 25-9 to win their group; Granite fell to Valmeyer 25-23, 8-25 and 15-8; defeated next-door rival Madison 25-22, 25-20; and lost to Jersey 18-25, 18-25 for a 1-2 mark on the day; McGivney dropped a 19-25, 21-25 decision to Roxana; fell to Calhoun 25-21, 9-25, 8-15; and defeated Dupo 25-23, 21-25, 12-15 to go 1-2 on the day; and Calhoun defeated Dupo 25-16, 26-24; defeated McGivney 21-25, 25-9, 15-8; and lost to Roxana 17-25, 7-25 for a 2-1 record for the day.

“Your goal, no matter if it’s a tournament or anything, is to see what you need to work on, see what’s working for you – especially if it’s the beginning of the year – and all the girls got a chance to play tonight to see what they can do in game action,” said Shell coach Mike McKinney. “Practice and games are two different things.

“We got pushed tonight by Father McGivney and had a tough first game against Calhoun, but we’re pleased with a 3-0 start. I told the girls that tomorrow, we don’t have practice, but I want you here watching Bunker Hill, Marquette (Catholic), (Piasa) Southwestern; the winner of that pool is who we’re playing (in Saturday’s first-place bracket at noon, with the final set for 2 p.m.) and if we win that one, we’re in the championship – that’s our goal, to win this tournament.

“We played well, especially the second game against Calhoun, then we went down a little bit on our intensity but picked it up for the last game, so overall, it was a good night.”

“I think we did well,” said Calhoun coach Kerry Lorton. “We’re very young – ‘we’ve got at least three sophomores playing; I think we’re on the right track. It wasn’t easy, but the girls played well and played as a team.

“Sophie (Lorton) played strong in the backcourt as my libero; we had strong blocking at the net with Emily (Clowers) and Lexi (Klocke), great serving from Claire (Stein) and Sydney (Baalman) and my sophomores stepped in and picked up my backcourt; I’m happy with how it turned out.”

“It’s always great to come here this early in the season because we get to see a lot of teams that we face during the regular (season),” said McGivney coach Amanda Dreyer, “and some teams that really stretch us; it’s good that they get challenged right off the bat and learn how to stay on their toes and really keep the game moving.”

Getting the win against Dupo meant much for the Griffins and Dreyer. “It was really exciting and they had a lot of good energy and momentum,” Dreyer said. “It took them into really playing against Roxana and facing a really good team and really battling for those points there.

“Each one of these girls were hand-picked for a very specific reason and purpose; they each contribute a great amount to this squad and I’m just really excited for this season.”

In other the only match on the night not involving area teams, Valmeyer defeated Madison 25-16, 25-10. Play resumes tonight with group matches involving Bunker Hill, Marquette Catholic, Piasa Southwestern, Civic Memorial, East Alton-Wood River, Brussels, Gillespie and Mount Olive at all three venues; play begins at 5 p.m., with matches also scheduled for 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Bracket play gets under way at 9 a.m. Saturday with matches in the third- and fourth-place brackets.

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