St. Elmo wins in final cancer match vs. Brownstown

ST. ELMO – A large crowd was on hand Tuesday night to support the final Volley for the Cure game between Brownstown and St. Elmo.

And they didn’t just get to help a great cause, they also got to see some good volleyball.

In front a crowd that nearly packed both sides of St. Elmo’s gym, the Lady Eagles rallied from early deficits in both sets of a 25-19, 25-15 victory in the final cancer awareness game before the two schools consolidate their programs next season.

“It’s a big deal,” said Lady Bombers coach Toby Harms. “Obviously, I am disappointed by the loss, but I’m really happy we had a nice crowd and a sea of pink.”

Added St. Elmo coach Elise Asher, “The crowd tonight was impressive. It was a lot of fun to play like this for a great cause.”

Asher said that future plans for the game have not been determined, but she is hopeful that the Lady Eagles will start a new tradition that will continue allowing for an annual donation to the Fayette County Relay for Life team.

Brownstown (2-5) held a 13-9 lead in the first set and an 11-5 lead in the second, but St. Elmo (8-3) both times was able to use a strong offensive attack to rally back for the win.

In the first set, it was a pair of aces from senior Heather Seibert that started the comeback, and in the second set, it was nine straight serves by senior Perry Manley that sparked the team.

Asher attributed the early-set troubles to an improved Brownstown team.

“They had a lot of offensive chances, because of their serve-receive, passing and defense,” Asher said. “It took us several attempts in a volley to put the ball down, because Brownstown certainly challenged us.

“We had to make an adjustment on our serve-receive,” she said. “We were down 11-5, and Perry stepped back to service line, and the kids did their job.”

Senior Savannah Feezel led the Lady Eagles with eight kills, and senior Katie Stites was right behind with seven. Senior Megan Maxey had three aces, and Manley had 16 assists.

For the Lady Bombers, junior Bethany Oberlink led the attack, with three kills, junior Dani Austin had two aces, and junior Michaela Walk had five assists.

“We’re trying to work on not being content with just playing OK,” Harms said. “We’ve played really well at times, but as a whole, we are not where we need to be.”

Stats
Lady Eagles
Kills: Feezel, 8; Stites, 7; Maxey, 3; Manley, 2; Seibert, 1.
Aces: Maxey, 3; Stites, 2; Manley, 1; Seibert, 1.
Assists: Manley, 16; Maxey, 1; Seibert, 1; Stites, 1.
Blocks: Feezel, 2.
Lady Bombers
Kills: Oberlink, 3; Courtney Howard, 2; Tara Johnson, 1; Chelsey Lange, 1; Walk, 1.
Aces: Austin, 2; Johnson, 1.
Assists: Walk, 5; Shelby Rine, 2.
Blocks: Evans, ½; Howard, ½.