EHS volleyball finishes third in SWC and prepares for postseason

EDWARDSVILLE – O’Fallon was on a roll Thursday.

In the final regular season game between both teams, the Panthers defeated the Edwardsville Tigers 25-18, 25-18 inside Lucco Jackson Gymnasium.

“The middle didn't run well tonight,” EHS coach Doug Allen said. “For us, focusing on the middle has been a strength. It didn't go well tonight. There was just some kind of disconnect. That's OK. It's going to happen. We're not perfect. . Volleyball is a game of errors.”

With the loss to the Southwestern Conference, the Tigers finished the regular season with a record of 19 wins and 15 losses, and a record of 5 wins and 5 losses in league play. They placed third in the SWC. The last of the Tigers' five SWC overall titles came in 2021.

O'Fallon, a two-time SWC champion and fourth-place finisher at the state tournament last season, finished 21-8-2 in the regular season and 8-2 in the SWC.

Belleville East won back-to-back games against EHS and O'Fallon, winning the league with a 10-0 record. This is the Lancers' first SWC title since 2012.

Allen called the SWC “very tough.” “We're a good team, we're sitting in third place, but we're struggling in third place. We have a strong conference. That's pretty impressive. Seven or eight years ago, we were 12-0. That was kind of the norm, but volleyball has grown so much at other schools as well.”

There were eight lead changes and six ties early in Thursday's first set. A block by Tigers junior Ben Crake tied the score at 12-12, but the Panthers grabbed the momentum and fought back.

O'Fallon went on a quick 7-3 run that ended with a kill by EHS sophomore Colin Donaldson.

From there, the Panthers cruised to a 25-18 win in the first set.

“There was nothing concrete,” Allen said of what changed in the first set. “It's just the little things. One swing or one miss on serve doesn't connect, it's a two-point swing. Things like that happen, but it's something you have to work out.”

The Panthers continued to play well in the second set, taking a 6-0 lead. EHS got on the scoreboard with a kill from junior Micah Swank.

An error by O'Fallon, a block by EHS junior Logan Justice and a kill by Donaldson cut the deficit to one point at 8-7, but the Panthers came back on fire. They went on a 9-2 run to go up 17-9.

EHS tried to come back after losing 24-14. Following a block by Swank, Donaldson had a kill to make it 24-18, but a serve error meant O'Fallon won the second set, 25-18.

“I was proud of that,” Allen said of the comeback attempt in the second set. “I loved it. They fought back and got us up to 18th place. I was proud of that. They were still fighting. They know we can play together. ”

Ryan McNavnay and Justice led the Tigers with four kills each. Donaldson had three kills and Jacob Williams had two. Nicolas Pascal had six assists and Lucas Marsh had five.

Defensively, Lucas Gebhardt led the way with eight digs. Crake had four blocks, while Swank and Donaldson each had three.

The Tigers were once again without junior hitter Joe Liston, who was sidelined for some time with an ankle injury.

“He was cleared to operate,” Allen said. “It's just a matter of comfort for him. He's getting there. If you jump like he does, you'll be seriously injured.”

Once the regular season concludes, EHS will shift its focus to the postseason.The third-seeded Tigers will play against 13 teams.^th– Play against the seeded Metro East Lutheran Knights (1-22) in the Granite City Regional quarterfinals on Monday at 6:30 p.m.

The winner advances to face either Olton (7-20) or Bunker Hill (5-9) in the semifinals Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

“They feel good. We have a very deep team, so we have the talent to come in,” Allen said.

The top seed in the region is O'Fallon. The regional championship will be held in Granite City on Thursday at 6 p.m.

“Hopefully we can play O’Fallon again next week in Granite City,” Allen said.