Lady Cats Win FRC Match Over St. Clair

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Union and St. Clair slugged it out on the volleyball court Tuesday at St. Clair in a Four Rivers Conference match.

The Lady ’Cats emerged with a hard-fought victory over St. Clair, 26-24, 21-25, 25-19.

“It was our second conference win. We’re very excited,” said Union Head Coach Angie Dewert Morris. “We know the next few games are going to be tough. I’m hoping the good competition will help bring out our strengths.”

The match was competitive all the way.

“It was a good matchup with Union,” said St. Clair Head Coach Lane Cox. “I felt like our kids battled the whole way.”

The first two games came down to the wire with the teams splitting them.

Union (8-9-2, 2-3) jumped to an early lead in the third and deciding game and held on to take the match.

“Games 1 and 2 could have gone either way,” said Cox. “Volleyball is a game of momentum and Union came out stronger than us in that third game. We kind of dug ourselves in a hole early on and couldn’t get out of it.”

Rachael Bassett had a big match for Union, finishing with 15 kills, two blocks and two service aces.

“Rachael was on fire. Her hitting always is amazing, but I am mostly impressed with her passing and defense,” said Dewert Morris. “She gave everything she had to stop the ball from dropping on our side.”

Emily Eckley collected 12 assists, one kill and one ace.

Clare Stowe added three kills and one block. Maddy Weinhold recorded two kills and two aces. Liz Dunne had two kills and one assist. Brooke Breeden and Jillian Johnston both added one kill.

“Lauren (Terschluse) continues to impress me with her defense. Her communication has been outstanding and she has truly embraced her role on this team,” said Dewert Morris. “All of the girls did their jobs well. We have been working on a few minor changes, but I believe they have adjusted and continue to play aggressively. I am very happy with their performance and hoping we can take this confidence with us through for the rest of the season.”

Sarah Baker smashed eight kills for St. Clair. Sam Deason added six kills. Kayla Klenke finished with three blocks.

“Kayla put up a pretty solid block in the middle,” said Cox.

Emily Rogers finished the contest with 16 assists.

The Lady Bulldogs and the Lady ’Cats both play at the St. Clair Tournament Saturday starting at 9 a.m.

St. Clair-St. James

St. Clair (4-14, 1-3) won its first conference match Thursday at home over St. James, 25-17, 25-14.

“St. James had a little trouble with our serves,” said Cox. “They had a lot of unforced errors that really allowed us to play an aggressive game moving the ball around.”

Allison Hinson and Klenke led the Lady Bulldogs in kills.

Ashley Fuchs and Rogers were the team’s top servers.

Baker led the Lady Bulldogs’ defensive performance.

“Sarah had a great night picking up a lot of tips and reading the open court well,” said Cox.

Union-Owensville

Union fell on the road at Owensville Thursday, losing in two games, 25-18, 25-15.

Bassett led Union with four kills while Stowe added three and Dunne had one.

Bassett had one block and one assist. Eckley led Union with seven assists and also had the team’s only ace.