By Fred Kroner
The St. Joseph seventh-grade volleyball team has an 8-1 season record, with seven of the wins coming in two-set sweeps.
The Panthers opened the season with wins over Hoopeston Area (25-12, 25-15), Champaign Next Generation (25-15, 25-1) and Tolono Unity (25-9, 25-16) before going to the Maroa-Forsyth Tournament.
St. Joseph took third at Maroa on Saturday (Jan. 21), defeating Sangamon Valley (25-19, 25-9) and then losing to Maroa-Forsyth (25-19, 25-19). The Panthers beat Decatur Lutheran in their final tournament match, 25-10, 25-19.
Since the tournament, the school has a four-match winning streak, with victories over Champaign Edison (25-14, 24-26, 25-23), Bismarck-Henning (25-18, 25-13) and Villa Grove (25-20, 25-18).
The match with Bismarck-Henning was the lone one at home to date.
The Panthers have had several players step up from the service line. Lyla Patton landed six aces against Hoopeston Area and five against Next Generation.
Megan Kearney delivered four service aces against Next Generation and five against Unity.
Against Edison, Brooklyn Stevens served two aces and Olivia Edington had one service ace.
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St. Joseph’s eighth-grade volleyball team started the season with wins in six of their first eight matches. Both losses were in three-set contests.
The Panthers beat Hoopeston Area (25-2, 25-12), Champaign Next Generation (25-8, 25-19) and Tolono Unity (25-22, 25-3) before traveling to the Maroa-Forsyth Tournament.
An assortment of players had key roles to spark the team in the first three matches.
In the opener, Hadley McDonald started the first set with a 15-point service run. Against Next Generation, Hayden Dahl’s eight-point service run got the Panthers rolling in the first set. Against Unity, Alivia Learnard serving enabled St. Joseph to build a double-digit lead in the second set after the Panthers won a defensive struggle in the first set.
At the Maroa Tournament, St. Joseph opened with a win over Sangamon Valley (25-13, 25-11) before falling to Maroa-Forsyth (27-25, 13-25, 15-8) and Mount Zion (25-20, 8-25, 15-8).
Eighth-grade coach Abby McDonald found positive signs in the tournament.
“We struggled to maintain consistency, but it was great competition to face so early in the season and we learned a lot about what we need to work on to be successful,” she said.
The Panthers regrouped to defeat Champaign Edison (19-25, 26-24, 25-16) and Bismarck-Henning (25-16, 25-17).
The only home match to date was against Bismarck-Henning.
St. Joseph returns to action on Thursday (Feb. 2) at home against Cissna Park.
