EDWARDSVILLE - The Alton Redbirds girls volleyball squad opened its season with some success at the Windsor Tournament in Imperial, Mo., over the weekend, and it continued also into a solid performance against Edwardsville on Tuesday night, Sept. 2, 2025, at Edwardsville.
Edwardsville won in two sets over the Redbirds on Tuesday.
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"I'm not disappointed in how we played," said Alton head coach Eric Wolf. "We did really well. This is the first time this group's really gotten together, and I think we're improving each game, and I think, as the season goes on, we're going to be good to go."
The success the Redbirds had at Windsor translated well in the match against the Tigers.
"Well, Windsor last year, it was a tough tournament," Wolf said. "We took some bad losses, but this year, I felt like we were in every game, and we knew Edwardsville's good every year, so we knew they were going to be good tonight, and I think we played them well."
On the season, Rayna Raglin, an outside hitter, leads the squad in kills with 26, while Kyridas Orr has 25 and Madeleine Ducey has 24.
Lucy Lehmann has 64 digs to pace the squad, while Olivia Certa has 28 and Gracie Milford 26. Milford has 53 assists, and Mackenzie Cochran has 42 assists. Milford has 14 serving aces and Decey 13. Orr has 10 blocks on the season.
It's still early in the season, of course, and Wolf is looking forward to getting back to the gym for the Redbirds to work on their weaknesses.
"It's just about learning how to win," Wolf said. "We've had some losing seasons the past 10, 11 years, and it's just these girls getting in their heads that they are good, and they can win games. It's just learning how to win."
The Redbirds did have good things happen during the match, which pleased Wolf very well, indeed.
"We had some good swings, we had some good digs," Wolf said. "Ja'Kayla (Steen), every time she gets the opportunity to swing, she swings hard, and she puts a lot of balls down. We've just got to continue to feed the beast in every game."
Wolf still has plenty of goals and aspirations for his team in the young season.
"First one is we just keep improving," Wolf said. "Hopefully, that leads to a close to winning record, if not a winning record, and win a first-round regional game. We're growing the program, and I think we're moving in the right direction."
Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
