Chester Volleyball loses at Marion and wins at Wesclin;
Ends regular season 15-13 overall and 6-4 in Cahokia Conference
By Jim Beers, Contributing Writer
CHESTER – The Chester High School Lady Jackets Volleyball Team closed out its 2022 regular season in Week 8 with a loss at Marion and a win at Wesclin. The loss at Marion was a non-conference loss, but the win at Wesclin was a Cahokia Conference win, giving the Jackets a season ending conference of 6-4 and an overall regular season record of 15-13.
Marion wins in two sets, 25-11 and 25-19
Chester traveled to Marion Wednesday October 19 to challenge the Marion Lady Wildcats in a non-conference match. The Jackets held their own, however the much bigger school proved to be too much for Chester to handle in the end and the girls from CHS fell in two sets, 25-11 and 25-19.
The Lady Wildcats were hard-hitting and very quick on the floor. They played good defense and struck with precision on offense. This combination caused the Jackets to be confused much of the match and they spent most of their time racing to play catch-up with the Cats.
Set 1 featured Marion getting off to a quick 6-1 score. Before the Jackets knew it, the score was 18-5 and Chester Head Coach, Colleen Runge called a time out. Following the time out Marion went on a 2-2 scoring effort and Chester called another time out losing 20-7. Down the stretch Marion executed a final 5-4 run to secure the win, 25-11.
The Chester High School Lady Jacket Volleyball Team takes a time out while Head Coach Colleen Runge provides direction and motivation. Jim Beers Photo
Set 2 was much more competitive, as the Lady Jackets appeared to have gotten their bearings adjusted to Marion’s intensity and game plan. The set was tied five times in the opening exchanges. Early scores were 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 before the Lady Wildcats took a 12-6 lead.
Chester used a 7-3 run to get within three points, 12-15. A 6-5 Chester run got the Jackets within two points, 18-16, late in the set, and spirits were high in the Lady Jacket camp. Marion used a late 5-1 hot streak to eventually take the wind out of the YellowJacket’s sails and win both the set and the match with a score of 25-19.
For the game, Mabry Wingerter led the team in assists with 9 and she added 3 digs, 1 ace, 1 kill, and 1 solo block. Paige Vasquez contributed 7 kills and 6 digs. Jordan Buskohl added 3 kills and 1 solo block. Maggie Caby had 1 kill and 1 dig. Emma Eggemeyer added 3 digs and 1 assist. Paige Thomas added 2 digs and Jasmine Merideth had 1 dig. Finally, Elaina Lutman contributed 1 dig.
CHS junior, Ellen McCormick (#36) serves! In the final two matches pof the 2022 season McCormick led the team in digs with 26 and also contributed 4 assists. JIm Beers Photo
With the loss, the Lady Jackets recorded an overall record of 14-13 and maintained their Cahokia Conference record of 5-4.
Chester wins at Wesclin in two sets, 25-18 and 25-20
To close out the final match of the 2022 season and the final match of the Cahokia Conference schedule the Lady Jackets traveled to Wesclin Thursday October 20 to take on the Wesclin Lady Warriors. The match completed Week 8 of the season.
The Jackets played well in both sets and won in just two sets. The first set score was 25-18 while the second set score was 25-20.
In the win, Jordan Buskohl led the team in kills with 15. She also had 1 block assist. Ellen McCormick led the team in digs with 19. She also had 3 assists. Paige Vasquez led the team in kills with 6. She also contributed 8 digs, and 2 aces. Mabry Wingerter led the team in assists with 24. She also added 8 digs.
Lady Jacket Volleyball player Mabry Wingerter (#3), a junior, shows her pleasure after making a good lay at the net. In the final two matches of the season Wingerter Led her team in assists with 32 and added 11 digs, 1 solo block, 1 ace and 1 kill. Jim Beers Photo
Senior Maleia Absher had a good match with 3 kills, 1 block assist, and 1 dig. Senior Paige Thomas added 5 digs and an ace. Freshman Maggie Caby recorded 4 kills, and 2 block assists. Senior Emma Eggemeyer had 4 digs. Alexis Eggemeyer added 1 kill.
Nicki Wingerter (left) and Stacey Search (right) have been Chester High School Volleyball volunteers for many years and are loyal supporters of Lady Jacket Volleyball. Wingerter keeps the official statistics book for all home games and Search is the Official Libero Tracker and is responsible for keeping track of the ongoings of the libero throughout the entire match. CHS is very fortunate to have the services of these two very dedicated young ladies. Jim Beers Photo
With the win, Chester ended the regular season with an overall winning record of 15 wins and 13 losses. The Cahokia Conference record was six wins and 4 losses, good enough to finish 3rd in the conference.
Week 9 will bring the 2022 IHSA Class 2A Regional Volleyball Tournament hosted by Chester at CHS Colbert Gymnasium.