1A Talent Shines at States – Third place Match
IHSA State Tournament results Class 1A Third Place Match: Athens defeated Norris City (NCOE) 24-26, 25-16, 25-9 In a close first set, NCOE pulled off a 26-24 win, but an injury to Hollan Everett, their freshman star middle hitter put…
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Class 1A
Third Place Match: Athens defeated Norris City (NCOE) 24-26, 25-16, 25-9
In a close first set, NCOE pulled off a 26-24 win, but an injury to Hollan Everett, their freshman star middle hitter put the team in an awkward position. Coach Jaclyn Melton moved Everett into the rights side and made some strategic player moves that did not work out in the end. without a healthy Everett, NCOE fell in the following two sets ti a strong Athens team.
“It’s hard when you are putting people into places where they weren’t used to playing,” said Melton at the press conference.
Athens took advantage of the situation and climbed to the third-place win, sweeping the last two sets. Head Coach Brittani Morrison spoke of the win; “They left it all on the floor today.”
Norris City-Omaha-Enfield ends the season with a 36-4 record, the most wins in the school history, They graduate four but returns their big hitter, freshman Hollan Everett.
Athens finished the season with a 31-6 record and a third-place STate trophy.
Outstanding Players of the match
Player, Yr, Ht, Pos, School
Adrien Barret, 2020, 5’8, OH, Athens
Adrian tallied 12 kills, handled 12 digs, 1 ace and 1 block assist in the match.
Becky Barret, 2020, 5’2, L, Athens
With a match-high 23 digs, Becky was the solid defensive force needed to help Athens to the three-set victory.
Evie Duncan, 2021, 5’11, OH Norris City-Omaha-Enfield
Evie had a great match, adding 8 kills against a tough Athens team.
Morghan Kerwin, 2020, 5’4, S, Athens
Morghan led Athens with 23 assists and collected 8 digs on the night.
Caroline Lendy, 2020, 6’0, OH, Athens
Carolin Lendy led all hitters in 1A at the tournament with 26 kills, 3 shy of the 1A state tournament record. On the weekend she tallied 35 kills overall. IN this match, she had a .400 hitting percentage and added 15 digs to her totals.
Sophie Neal, 2021, 5’10, OH, Norris City-Omaha-Enfield
Sophie Neal had 9 kills and 9 digs, just missing a double-double for the match.