School Sports

VANDALIA – Jessica Sullens isn't very vocal on the court.

And that's alright most of the time, because it's assumed that she is one who will set the ball after the first pass.

The quiet leader has emerged as a dominating setter this season, lifting 256 kill assists through the first 15 games.

And she's done it with remarkable consistency.

With 19 assists in three games and 18 assists in the other at the Vandalia Tournament this past week, Sullens played her part in helping the Lady Vandals place second in the event.

VANDALIA – After dropping three straight conference games, Vandalia’s volleyball team got going in the right direction last Thursday with a win against Hillsboro.

The 25-23, 25-17 victory was the first game in a week for the Lady Vandals and moved the team closer to evening its South Central Conference record, while earning them their first win since Sept. 7.

“It was a much-needed win,” said coach Allison Hall. “Mentally, we needed that win to get back on track for the weekend tournament.”

VANDALIA – After playing to a 2-2 draw at Christ Our Rock Lutheran on Sept. 10, the Vandals wanted to get past them at home last Thursday for their second win of the season.

And while it was looking promising early in the second half, the score would be the same as the first time by the end of the game, leaving Vandalia’s players in a dismayed state that hasn’t been characteristic of the past two winless seasons.

VANDALIA – A freshman impressed from the mound, and the offense posted plenty of runs to allow Patoka to advance to the championship game of the Egyptian-Illini Conference Tournament.

Garrett Belcher allowed just two runs and struck out seven over five innings of work, as the Warriors defeated Ramsey, 13-2.

“It was nice to see Garrett pitch the way he did,” said Patoka coach Joey Eddy. “He got frustrated in the first inning, because he gave up a run.

VANDALIA – For the second time in six days, local rivals Ramsey and Mulberry Grove played a close game.

And though it wasn’t as close as last Tuesday’s 1-0 Ramsey victory, the Rams still came away with the win on Monday, winning the Egyptian-Illini Conference Tournament play-in game, 6-3.

After leaving five runners on base in the first two innings, No. 5 seed Mulberry Grove got two runs off of fourth-seeded Ramsey senior Tristan Wesselman in the third inning. Those runs came after Wesselman walked two and hit three straight batters.

VANDALIA – South Central started the day with an exciting match against the Lady Vandals during the 20th annual Vandalia Tournament, but would only muster one win on the day to finish sixth.

The Lady Cougars (5-8) got their lone win on Saturday in third game, beating East Alton-Wood River, 25-12, 25-18.

Otherwise, South Central fell to Vandalia, 26-24, 24-26, 11-15; Lebanon, 13-25, 17-15; and Staunton, 19-25, 18-25, in the eight-team event.