Coming off a thrilling win over the Quincy Blue Devils, the EHS girls’ volleyball team had high hopes for a postseason run. Unfortunately, their dreams were cut short when they were defeated by Springfield in just two games, ultimately ending their 2014 campaign.
Coming into the season, the Tigers were not expected to do much. A young squad guided by only three starting seniors, the girl’s 2014 season was expected to be nothing more than a showcase of future talent.
“Though we didn’t have the talent like last year’s team, we did what we could do and gave all-out effort every game,” senior captain Korrine Croft said. Croft started as the middle hitter all season, and is committed to Southeast Missouri University. She led the team, put faith in them, and, night by night, showed them that they could compete.
“Korrine was a great leader,” freshman libero Megan Woll said. “Whenever we were down or doing bad, she always picked us up by being positive about everything.
The rest of the team followed in Croft’s footsteps and played their hearts out every game. When the postseason approached, they were ready to play.
The first obstacle for a hopeful postseason stretch was the pitiful Granite City Warriors. The Tigers crushed the Warriors in just two games, resulting in a match that would last only 40 minutes.
Dominating Granite City wasn’t a surprise. The team knew that their next challenge against Quincy was much more competitive.
As Quincy took the first game, the Tigers went out to an 8-3 lead to begin the second. The whooping and hollering of parents and student fans backed the girls as they ran over Quincy to force a third game. In dramatic fashion, the Tigers would hold on to beat the Blue Devils, advancing to the regional championship against the tough Springfield squad.
Edwardsville started off strong, going up 10-6 in the first game. Springfield turned the tide, although, and ended up taking the first game 25-21. Not prepared to be eliminated, Edwardsville got ahead early in the second game. The Tigers managed to hold the lead for a majority of the game, until Springfield came alive at the end. The Tigers were up 21-19 until Springfield scored five consecutive points to put them up 25-21. Edwardsville tried to mount a comeback by scoring two straight points, but were not able to force a third game, losing 25-23.
Springfield won the regional championship, moving on to the sectional tournament. The Edwardsville bunch would return home setting their sights on next season. “We have one goal for next year: to make it to the state tournament,” junior starting libero Rachel Anderson said.