7th/8th-Grade Volleyball Takes On The Steelville Cardinals

The 7th/8th-grade Lady Eagles volleyball teams played Steelville at home on Wednesday, Mar. 13, at Sullivan Middle School.

The 7th graders fell 25-21 in their first set, rebounded with a dominant 25-8 victory in the second, and ultimately lost 15-10 in their third.

The 8th graders beat the Cardinals in both sets with 25-15 and 25-22 scores.

7th Grade

Steelville started hot with a 6-0 lead, but the 7th-grade Lady Eagles were able to rally back. Emma Jones’ spike brought in a clutch score, and Addyson Lively drew up back-to-back points. Reya Rochleau fired on all cylinders with her aces and led the Lady Eagles to tie it 18-18. Sullivan and Steelville continued to trade scores back and forth, but the Lady Cardinals survived the contest to win 25-21.

Seeking vengeance, the Lady Eagles soared ahead with 19 unanswered points at the start of the second set. Rochleau continued to serve up her magic on the court by blasting aces left and right. As Sullivan locked into a perfect rotation on the court, Lively, Abigail Firebaugh and Jocelyn Lattimore kept launching kills from the attack line. Emma Jones cooked up their final two scores of the set for a 25-8 comeback victory.

Despite Sullivan’s new pivot, the momentum shifted back to the Lady Cardinals, who kicked off the third with a 7-0 lead. The Lady Eagles eventually picked up their first score of the set with a low hit by Steelville. The error allowed Rochleau and Jones to rock the server position and help cut Sullivan’s deficit to two points. Steelville iced Sullivan with a timeout as the Lady Eagles were on fire again. After huddling up, Steelville tallied three quick points to win the final set 15-10.

8th Grade

Steelville drew first blood against the 8th-grade Lady Eagles with a score. After the Lady Cardinals hit it out-of-bounds, Nina George spiked a kill to grab a 2-1 Sullivan lead. The Lady Eagles began to pop off as Payton Bray, Jayde Schlueter, Thea Hampton and Hayden Webb launched aces to the other side. With Sullivan ahead 21-8, Steelville built new momentum and racked up six quick points. Ava Kirk, Lillie Craig and George came to the rescue with clutch kills. Then Riley Rulo served up the final nail in the coffin for Sullivan’s 24-15 first-set win.

Webb accelerated the Lady Eagles to an early 8-1 lead with aces to kick off their second contest. Steelville iced her run with a timeout and broke the drought right afterward when Sullivan couldn’t recover a low ball. Both teams continued to trade points back and forth across the net, with the Lady Cardinals eventually trimming it to a one-point deficit at 20-19. Webb locked in again at the server position and drove the Lady Eagles to seize a slim 25-22 victory.

To read more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition.