Tuesday's prep highlights: M-S tops SJ-O in volleyball; Sages rally in soccer
Aug. 30—Tuesday's highlights:
In volleyball
➜ Arthur Christian School 2, Tri-City/Sangamon Valley 1. Arthur Christian ran its win streak to nine straight following a 25-21, 25-22 nonconference road win. Addi Erwin handed out 23 assists for the Conquering Riders (9-1) and Selah Wheeler produced 10 kills. Teammates Lauren Ford and Brileigh Mast each helped out with five kills apiece.
➜ Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 2, Danville 0. Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin won its second straight match, defeating Danville 25-19, 25-12 in a nonconference road match. Ella McFarland had a superb all-around performance for the Blue Devils (3-1) against the Vikings (1-3), with McFarland producing nine kills, seven assists and four blocks. Reis McFarland also was a big reason why BHRA won with six kills, and teammate Eva Ronto added nine assists.
➜ Champaign Central 2, Unity 1. Champaign Central won for the second time in as many nights, with the visiting Maroons rallying past the Rockets 19-25, 25-14, 25-19 for a nonconference victory. Kindle Williams posted a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs to lead Central (2-2). Bridget Cassady added eight kills and 13 digs against Unity (1-3), while Brooklynn Hubbard (four kills), Cricket Wagner (19 digs) and Ava Clark (13 assists) all contributed for the Maroons.
➜ Chrisman 2, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 0. The host Cardinals got off to a superb start and didn't let up during a 25-7, 25-20 nonconference win against the Knights. Summer Melton finished with eight kills for ALAH (1-2), while Alayna Plank had 13 assists and Karaline Vanausdoll made 11 digs.
➜ Cornerstone 2, LeRoy 0. Despite five kills from LeRoy's Natalie Loy and four kills from Molly Buckles, host Cornerstone came away with a 26-24, 25-16 nonconference win. Haley Cox added 11 assists and two aces for the Panthers (5-2).
➜ El Paso-Gridley 2, Clinton 0. The visiting Maroons (1-2) stayed close with El Paso-Gridley in the first set, but the host Titans prevailed 27-25, 25-10 in a nonconference match.
➜ Fisher 2, Uni High 0. The Bunnies (3-2) won their third straight match with a 25-23, 25-18 home win against the Illineks in Uni High's season opener. Heidi Wang contributed 22 digs for the Illineks (0-1), while Lisa Spencer (13 assists) and Sophia Deltas (three blocks) chipped in.
➜ Georgetown-Ridge Farm 2, Schlarman 0. The host Buffaloes cruised to a 25-11, 25-9 Vermilion Valley Conference win. Milee Ellis sparked G-RF (3-4) with 11 kills, while Rubyrae Fraser-Soule' directed the offense with 21 assists. Addison Spesard (four kills, three aces), Hadlee Hayes (four kills), Sierra Cunningham (four kills) and Skyley Meador (three aces, two kills) also had vital roles during the sweep against Schlarman (0-3).
➜ Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 2, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 1. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley won the first set, lost the second and then salvaged the third set to knock off off its Ford County rival in a nonconference road victory for the Falcons. Savannah Shumate and Natalie DeSchepper each compiled six kills for GCMS (2-4) against PBL (1-3). Sophia Ray (five kills, 10 digs), Lilly Lahr (nine digs), Abby Brown (four kills), Rylie Huls (nine assists, seven digs) and Bailey Fitzpatrick (nine assists) all had a hand in the win for GCMS.
➜ Greenview 2, Blue Ridge 1. The host Knights won the first set, but they couldn't slow down the Bulldogs the rest of the nonconference match, with Greenview leaving Farmer City with a 15-25, 25-16, 25-18 win. Phoebe Reynolds led Blue Ridge with eight kills, 14 digs and three aces. Lexi Phelps (four kills, six aces), Alissa Edwards (12 assists, four aces) and Ava Hammer (10 digs) also chipped in.
➜ Heritage 2, Oakwood 0. The visiting Hawks, propelled by big performances from Mary Roland, Riley Miller and Loran Tate, delivered a 25-20, 25-23 nonconference win against Oakwood. Heritage (3-1) won its third straight game backed up by 22 assists and three aces from Roland, seven kills from Tate and six kills from Miller as Miller finished with a .750 hitting percentage. Destanee Morgan (four kills, three digs) and Gracie Tate (four kills, three aces) also contributed against the Comets (0-2).
➜ Judah Christian 2, Salt Fork 0. The Tribe stayed unbeaten with an impressive showing during a 25-9, 25-17 home nonconference win. Rachel Divan supplied 10 kills for Judah Christian (8-0), while Klementine Davis handed out 19 assists and served three aces. Riley Pritts (eight digs, three kills) and Avoni Kelly (two kills, two blocks) also got in on the fun for Judah Christian against the Storm (0-2).
➜ Mahomet-Seymour 2, St. Joseph-Ogden 0. In a nonconference matchup of two teams who had yet to lose this season, the visiting Bulldogs left St. Joseph with a 25-21, 25-15 victory against the Spartans. Ellie Barker paced M-S (3-0) with six kills and five digs as teammates Ellie Dallas (14 assists, three digs) and Addie Eisenmann (four digs, three aces) were also key. Peyton Williams led SJ-O (4-1) with seven kills and seven digs, while Addie Roesch (five kills, three aces, four digs) and Halle Brazelton (13 assists, five digs) contributed for the Spartans, too.
➜ Lexington 2, Prairie Central 0. Prairie Central saw its nine-match winning streak to the start the season end, with Lexington pulling off a 25-22, 25-19 nonconference road victory in Fairbury. Kerigan Fehr paced Prairie Central (9-1) with 10 kills and Gyllian Davies added six kills to go along with 10 digs. Gracie Edelman (14 assists, 11 digs) had a double-double for the Hawks.
➜ Monticello 2, Meridian 0. Monticello remained unbeaten with a 25-23, 25-19 win against Meridian, the third consecutive road nonconference win for the Sages. Jobi Smith and Sierrah Downey each compiled six kills to pace Monticello (4-0) at the net, with Mady Melton shining defensively with nine digs.
➜ St. Thomas More 2, Centennial 1. In a close nonconference match throughout, the host Sabers prevailed with a 25-23, 21-25, 25-15 win. STM (3-0) remained unbeaten with the victory. Kaia Westray supplied seven kills, four digs and three blocks for the Chargers (1-2) and teammate Emily Pitcher came through with 21 assists and four digs.
➜ Tri-County 2, Casey-Westfield 0. The Titans went home with a hard-fought and close nonconference victory, defeating Casey-Westfield 26-24, 25-21. Josie Armstrong and Taylor Williams each finished with seven kills for the Tri-County (2-2), as Armstrong added seven digs and four blocks, with Williams making nine digs. Briana Reese (three kills, 16 assists) and Cara Phillips (three kills, seven digs) also chipped in.
➜ Villa Grove 2, Tuscola 1. In a Douglas County showdown, the Blue Devils got the best of the Warriors in a thrilling 23-25, 25-18, 27-25 nonconference win by Villa Grove. Jobella Crafton powered 11 kills for the Blue Devils (5-2), with strong serving by Piper Kiser in the second set keying a run for the home team. Kayln Cordes (22 assists) and Alexis Cassano (eight kills) were instrumental in the win, too. Sydney Moss finished with eight kills for Tuscola (0-5), with teammates Emily Czerwonka (four aces, 20 digs), Zoey Thomason (three kills, 14 digs) and Reese Davis (14 digs) providing steady contributions.
➜ Westville 2, North Vermillion (Ind.) 0. Westville has yet to drop a set this season, with the Tigers easing past their out-of-state foe en route to a 25-13, 25-13 home nonconference win. Ella Miller set the tone offensively with 15 kills for Westville (8-0), while Lainey Wichtowski distributed 24 assists and made eight digs. Carlee Miller (nine kills, four aces), Maddie Appl (five kills) and Maddy Doggett (four kills) also chipped in for Westville.
In boys' soccer
Argenta-Oreana Tournament
➜ Argenta-Oreana 7, Meridian 1. The host Bombers cruised to their first win of the season, thanks in large part to four goals from Rylan Lawson and three assists from Lucas May. Ryan Wood, Rory McKinney and Luke Scott each added goals for A-O (1-2), while Brady Lawson, Rylan Lawson, Wood and Colby James each registered an assist in its tournament opener.
Nontournament
➜ Fisher/Gibson-City-Melvin-Sibley 6, Judah Christian 0. The visiting Bunnies secured their second straight shutout in as many days, cruising to a win at Field of Dreams in Champaign. Sid Pfoff supplied a hat trick for Fisher/GCMS (3-0), scoring in the 30th minute, 39th minute and 50th minute. Zack Zbinden, Jacob Chittick and Isaiah Johnson also added goals, with Zbinden, Johnson, Spencer Kleist, Lane Beyers and Daniel Santos each contributing an assist. Easton Stroh and Parker Baillie combined to make four saves in producing the shutout in goal for the Bunnies.
➜ Hoopeston Area 2, Oakwood/Salt Fork 1. Keygan Field delivered the game-winning goal, helping Hoopeston Area earn its first win of the season with this Vermilion Valley Conference triumph. Field broke a 1-1 tie with his second-half goal on a rebound attempt near goal, with Gavin Montez scoring the first goal to stake the Cornerjerkers (1-1) to a 1-0 lead. Talan Gredy-Nelson assisted on Montez's goal. Jacob Pricer scored the lone goal for Oakwood/Salt Fork (2-2) on an assist by Brody Taflinger that tied the match at 1 in the second half. Owen Root made six saves in net for the Cornjerkers, with Jakob Rupp recording nine saves for Oakwood/Salt Fork.
➜ Iroquois West 4, Schlarman 3. The visiting Raiders received overtime goals from Angel Andrade and Mario Andrade as Iroquois West (1-3) its first win of the season. Angel Andrade's overtime goal capped a hat trick, and he also finished with one assist against the Hilltoppers (0-4).
➜ Mahomet-Seymour 0, Mt. Zion 0. Defense prevailed throughout this matchup of two of the Apollo Conference's top teams. M-S (0-0-2) has only allowed one goal through its first two matches.
➜ Monticello 2, Arthur Christian 1. Monticello trailed the nonconference match 1-0 at halftime before rallying in the second half to secure its first win of the season. Cannon Ureno tied the match at 1 for the Sages (1-2) on a goal off an assist from Caleb Wood before Levi Stephens scored the game-winning goal via an assist by Rylan Good. Josh Skowronski scored the lone goal for the Conquering Riders (0-3).
➜ Urbana 7, Rantoul 0. The visiting Tigers began their season with a superb performance in a road nonconference win. Fortunel Nana and Kevin Perez each scored two goals to carry Urbana (1-0) against the Eagles (0-3), with Arlin Orr recording two assists. Nadav Gal, Giovanni Hernandez and Michele Scarparo also tallied a goal, with Scarparo, Matthew Bodony and Anthony Becerril each picking up an assist.
In cross-country
➜ At Chrisman. In an unscored meet involving Academy High, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, Chrisman, Hoopeston Area and Rantoul, Eli Neitzel of Rantoul posted the top boys' time and Sophia Libman of Academy High accomplished the same feat in the girls' race. Neitzel crossed the finish line first in 19 minutes, 6 seconds, 20 seconds ahead of runner-up and teammate Wade Cloninger. Libman placed first in the girls' race with a time of 21.48, while Leah Phipps of Chrisman took second in 23:25.
In girls' golf
➜ At Decatur. Champaign Central finished second and Centennial placed third in a four-team meet won by Mattoon at Red Tail Run Golf Course. The Maroons carded a 224 as Addison Jones shot a 43 to pace Central. Centennial came through with a 247, led by a 54 from Jessica Miller.
In girls' tennis
➜ At Danville. Danville received victories from Anna Houpt in singles play and from the tandem of Houpt and Reese Rundle in doubles play, but visiting Chatham Glenwood earned a 7-2 win at Danville Tennis Club. Houpt won 6-0, 6-3 at No. 1 singles for the Vikings, while Houpt and Rundle won 8-4 at No. 1 doubles.
In girls' swimming & diving
➜ At Urbana. Centennial defeated host Urbana 101-79 in a Big 12 dual meet at the Urbana Indoor Aquatic Center, with the Chargers winning 10 of the 12 events. Rebekah Kim placed first in two individual events for the Chargers, winning the 100-yard butterfly in 1 minute, 12.15 seconds and the 100 breaststroke in 1:18.95. Kim also swam on the winning 200 freestyle relay with Megan Tsai, Kennedy Borden and Brynley Wilber in 1:55.23 and the winning 200 medley relay with Tsai, Wilber and Riti Bhosale in 2:07.02. Centennial also won the 400 freestyle relay in 4:28.85, with Wilber, Bhosale, Maya Favila and Borden each swimming a leg. Wilber in the 200 freestyle (2:17.58), Lizzy Good in the 200 individual medley (2:54.31), Tsai in the 500 freestyle (6:00.44), Bhosale in the 100 backstroke (1:15.94) and Salma Rojano in the 1-meter diving (130.00) each recorded first-place finishes for Centennial. Savannah Blanden in the 50 freestyle (31.67) and Avalon Ogolosky (1:11.80) both picked up victories for Urbana.
Matt Daniels