Split ‘em — Mater Dei sophomore Keelyn Miller delivers an attack across the net with Central defenders Madelyn Luebbers (3) and Abigail Leezer putting up a double block. Miller had a pair of kills in the 25-23, 25-20 win over the rival Cougars on Saturday. PHOTO BY JEREMY CHAWGO Both the Mater Dei and Central volleyball teams had strong weeks with them cumulating in a Pink Out match on Saturday afternoon at a sold out Stan Eagleson Gymnasium.
The Lady Knights emerged victorious on the day with a sweep over the rival Cougars with MD moving to 13-1 on the season. They are ranked #2 in the Class 3A State rankings and #6 in the overall IHSA rankings.
They were in action at Chatham Glenwood who came into the match with a 15-1 record and a #16 ranking. They play Incarnate Word on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Central won a pair of Cahokia Conference matches before the loss to Mater Dei and they sit at 9-4 overall and they are ranked eighth in Class 2A according to maxpreps.com.
CHS plays St. Thomas More on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Set-Tember Fest at Champaign Central. They play a talented St. Ignatius team at 8:30 p.m.
Put it down — Mater Dei senior Avery Patton splits Central defenders Lana Kraeger (12) and Allyson Sellers in the Lady Knights’ 25-23, 25-20 win over the Cougars on Saturday afternoon. Patton had three kills and two blocks in the victory for MD. PHOTO BY JEREMY CHAWGO Mater Dei 25-25, Central 23-20: The Lady Knights got a tough battle from the Cougars in front of a packed house at Stan Eagleson Gymnasium on Saturday.
Both teams had 28 kills and they each kept the errors to a minimum with Central posting 13 and Mater Dei had 12.
The MD depth at the net was the difference with six players with at least two kills and three more having multiple blocks.
After a Haley Becker kill started the match with a 1-0 lead for Central, Mater Dei got two kills from Liv Goebel and another from Adrienne Rakers.
Central answered with a 5-0 run on Madi Redman’s service with the help of three kills from Bailey Gebke and two more from Becker for a 6-3 lead.
Mater Dei chipped away from there with two blocks from Avery Patton and single attacks from Goebel and Rakers to tie the game at 10-10.
Two errors from Mater Dei and a block from Gebke got Central back going with a 13-11 lead before Rakers and Hailey Klostermann put down kills to retie the contest at 14-14.
Mater Dei used two hitting errors and a double hit from the Cougars while Klostermann tipped one down for a 16-15 lead.
In air adjustment — Central senior Haley Becker sends a cross-court attack against Mater Dei senior Liv Goebel in the first game of the Cougars’ two-game loss to the Knights on Saturday. Becker had five kills. PHOTO BY JEREMY CHAWGO Central took the lead back with a 4-1 run of their own with two kills from Madelyn Luebbers and single shots from Aspen Hollenkamp and Lana Kraeger to lead 20-19.
After a pair of side outs, Mater Dei took the lead for good with two Cougars’ errors and kills from Klostermann and Goebel to set up game point.
Gebke smashed one down before Kraeger tipped one down to get within 24-23. Goebel ended the game with a strike to the ground for a 25-23 nail biter.
The second game went much the same way with several ties and lead changes.
Austyn Benhoff started the game with an ace before MD got four of the next five points with kills from Rakers and Klostermann and a block from Goebel to lead 4-2.
The game went back and forth again with two kills from Marlie Haag from the left side giving Mater Dei an 11-9 cushion.
Two hitting errors and an ace from Luebbers gave Central a 12-11 lead. Another kill from Haag got the Knights going again along with two kills from Patton to lead 16-15.
Luebbers answered with two more kills while Gebke smacked one down as well to get the Cougars the lead at 18-17. A kill from Patton and another from Luebbers gave the Cougars their last lead of the match at 19-18.
Mater Dei scored seven of the final eight points of the match with three kills and a block from Rakers before a smash from Goebel ended the match in favor of MD.
Rakers paced Mater Dei with eight kills, two blocks and three points. Goebel had six kills and two blocks.
Hailey Klostermann added five kills while Patton had three kills and two blocks. Lila Huelsmann had 11 service points for MD. Ava Lampe had 15 digs while Abby Kuhl had 20 assists.
Central got a match high 11 kills from Gebke and eight more from Luebbers who also had five service points. Haley Becker had five kills while Lana Kraeger had three. Redman led the way with seven points.
Central 25-25, Centralia 23-18: The Cougars moved to 4-0 in the Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division with a sweep over the Annies. Centralia dropped to 1-3 in the conference.
Centralia had an 18-15 opening-set lead following a senior Rorie Lambert kill. Central scored four of the next five points and tied the set 19-19 following a junior Austyn Benhoff service point. Centralia had leads of 20-19, 21-20 and 22-21. A kill from Central senior Haley Becker tied the set 22-22, then a senior Lana Kraeger kill gave the Cougars a 23-22 lead. A Central error tied the set 23-23.
Central junior Bailey Gebke had a kill to put the Cougars up 24-23. Gebke had a service point to give the Cougars the opening set.
Centralia had a 14-13 lead in the second set following a senior Marley Edson kill. Central scored the next three points to take a 16-14 lead following two Gebke service points. A Lambert kill got Centralia within 16-15. A Kraeger kill put Central up 17-15. Centralia got within 17-16 before Central scored three straight points to take a 20-16 lead following a junior Madelyn Luebbers kill.
Centralia got within 20-17 before Central scored five of the last six points to win the match. Becker had three kills during the stretch.
Kraeger and Luebbers led a balanced Central offensive attack with nine kills each. Gebke had seven kills and Becker had six kills, with five of those in the second set.
Benhoff had 17 assists and junior Jillian Beckmann had 11 assists. Benhoff had five service points. Junior Madi Redman, Kraeger, Gebke and Luebbers all had three service points.
Edson had nine kills for Centralia and Lambert had seven kills.
Mater Dei 25-25, Columbia 17-11: The Lady Knights had no trouble shooting down the Eagles on Tuesday night in Breese.
Mater Dei had great balance at the net with 21 kills with just seven errors and they featured three with five kills including Adrienne Rakers Avery Patton and Marlie Haag. Rakers also had five blocks while Livia Goebel had four blocks.
Junior Abby Kuhl led with eight service points and seven assists. Emma Kampwerth had six points and seven assists.
Senior Ava Lampe led the back row with 13 digs while Kuhl registered six.
Central 25-21-25, Freeburg 15-25-22: The Lady Cougars fought off a sluggish start in the second game to stay unbeaten in Cahokia play on Tuesday in Breese.
The duo of Madelyn Luebbers and Bailey Gebke were the story for the Cougars as they combined for 23 of their 40 kills. CHS had 25 hitting errors.
Gebke led all players with 12 kills while fellow junior Luebbers had 11 of her own. Senior Lana Kraeger added six blocks while Gebke and Luebbers each had three blocks.
Luebbers led the squad with 17 digs while Madi Redman added 16 digs. Austyn Benhoff had nine digs and 18 assists. Jillian Beckmann also had 18 helpers in the win.
