Jackets win first set, 25-21, then lose last two sets, 12-25 & 20-25 to end 2022 season
By Jim Beers, Contributing Writer
CHESTER – The Chester High School Lady Jacket Volleyball Team competed in the 2022 IHSA Class 2A Regional Volleyball Tournament Monday October 24. The Regional was hosted at Chester. The Jackets played former River-to-River Mississippi Division rivals the DuQuoin Lady Indians in Round 1 at 6:00 p.m. It was the only game of the evening.
Chester junior Jordan Buskohl (9) soars for one of her 15 kills against DuQuoin in the Regional Tournament. Buskohl has been consistent throughout the season as one of the key starters for the Lady YellowJacket Volleyball Team. Jim Beers Photo
The Jackets came out confident and played hard in the first set, winning, 25-21. It was a match in which the Jackets led the entire contest by as much as seven points, 21-14 late in the match. The Indians got within three points, 24-21 after which Chester finished the task with Maggie Caby serving the winning point.
Jazzi Merideth (1) makes a last-second save in the IHSA Regional match against the DuQuoin Lady Indians as Paige Thomas (27), Mabry Wingerter (3), Paige Vasquez (5) and Maggie Caby (16) wait in anticipation of the results of Merideth’s efforts. The save was good, and the ball was kept alive! Jim Beers Photo
The second set was a total reverse with DuQuoin leading most of the match. CHS struck first leading 1-0 after the first serve. The Lady Indians answered with a point to tie the match, 1-1, after which DuQuoin got the lead and never looked back.
After the Indians got a 14-6 lead, Chester called a time out to regroup and stop the DuQuoin attack. Following another of 6-6 spurt, Chester Coach Colleen Runge called another time out, down by eight points, 12-20.
Down the stretch, DuQuoin sealed the deal with a final 5-0 run to win the match, 25-12. The win evened the win-loss record and forced a third, tie-breaking set to determine who would win the match and advance to the second round. The loser would have their season ended.
CHS Lady Jacket senior Paige Vasques (5) hit a milestone Monday October 24 at the Chester vs DuQuoin Class 2A Regional Volleyball Tournament. Vasquez recorded her 501st kill of her high school career. Paige was a defensive specialist as a freshman and had just 9 kills that year. Her sophomore season Vasquez moved to the outside hitter position and recorded 106 kills. AS a junior, Vasquez contributed 168 kills and this year as a senior she had 218 kills to close out her high School career with 501 kills. Colleen Runge Photo
Set 3 was a knock-down-drag-out affair that featured six ties and seven lead changes. The Lady Indians started out with a 1-0 lead after which the Lady Jackets tied the score 1-1. CHS then went on a 5-1 run to take a 6-2 lead behind the serving of Mabry Wingerter and Ellen McCormick.
DuQuoin and Chester exchanged points and leads several times with four more ties in-between at 11-11. DuQuoin retook a brief lead, 12-11 after which both teams traded leads again until another tie at 16-16.
A 4-0 DuQuoin run gave the Indians a 20-16 lead after which Coach Colleen Runge called a Chester timeout. The Jackets then had a 2-0 run behind the serving of Mabry Wingerter to get Chester within two points, 20-18.
To end the match, the Lady Indians went on a 5-2 run behind the serving of Love Dunkin to win the match, 25-20 and advance to Round 2 of the 2020 IHSA Class 2A Regional hosted by Chester.
Chester High School Volleyball coaching staff Colleen Runge, Alyssa Keith, and Reese Chandler call a time out in Set 1 of the 2022 Regional Volleyball Tournament. Chester was up 15-10 over the DuQuoin Lady Indians and went on to win the first set, 25-21. Jim Beers Photo
In the loss, Chester’s Jordan Buskohl led the Jackets in kills with 15. She also added 2 assists. Ellen McCormick led the team in digs with 21. She also had 1 assist and 1 ace. Paige Vasquez contributed 2 aces, 9 kills and 1 assist. Mabry Wingerter led in assists with 21 in addition to 2 kills, 1 block assist, and 14 digs.
Other contributors to the Lady Jacket’s near success included Emma Eggemeyer who had 1 ace, 1 assist, and 6 digs. Maggie Caby added 2 kills, 2 assists and 6 digs. Paige Thomas added 1 ace, and 7 digs. Jasmine Merideth had 1 kill and 1 assist. Maleia Absher contributed 2 kills.
Head Coach Colleen Runge said, “Our season came to an end tonight against the DuQuoin Lady Indians. Our girls came out swinging the first set and won 25-21. DuQuoin switched up their offense and started finding all of our defensive holes and won 25-12 the second set. The third set was back and forth. The girls fought hard but fell short losing the third set 25-20.”
“I am so proud of these girls and their heart and passion for this game. They left it all on the court and should be proud of their season.”
“Jordan Buskohl led with 15 kills. Paige Vasquez had 9 kills. Maleia Absher, Maggie Caby and Mabry Wingerter had 2 kills apiece. Ellen McCormick has 21 digs followed by Paige Vasquez with 17 and Mabry Wingerter with 14 digs.”
In addition to the close match against DuQuoin, Chester’s Paige Vasquez, a senior, achieved a landmark 501 kills for her career at CHS with the 9 kills she had vs the Lady Indians.
Coach Runge said, “Paige Vasquez hit 501 kills for her high school career with the 9 kills against DuQuoin. She recorded 9 kills her freshman year as a defensive specialist. Her sophomore year she moved to outside hitter and had 106 kills for the year. Her junior year she had 168 kills and her senior year she recorded 218 kills for a career total of 501 kills.”
“Paige is a talented and athletic outside hitter who has both power and strength skills. She was truly a team leader for us this year and she will be missed. Congratulations to Paige from her Lady YellowJacket family!”
The Lady Jackets finished their 2022 season with an overall record of 15 wins and 14 losses for a winning season. They finished their Cahokia Conference season with six wins and 4 losses for another winning season and a 3rd Place finish out of six teams.
The loss to DuQuoin eliminated Chester from the 2022 IHSA Class 2A Volleyball Regional Tournament which was being hosted at Chester.
The Lady Indians advanced to Round 2.
Round 2 was held the next night, Tuesday October 25 at 6:00 P.M. in CHS Colbert Gymnasium.
The Nashville Lady Hornets defeated the DuQuoin Lady Indians in two sets, 25-17 and 25-10. This eliminated the Lady Indians from the Regional. Nashville advanced to play the winner of the Carterville vs Murphysboro match.
The second match of Round 2 on Tuesday October 25 began at approximately 7:00 P.M. The Carterville Lady Lions defeated the Murphysboro Lady Red Devils in two sets, 25-10 and 26-24. With the loss, the Lady Red Devils were eliminated from the Regional Tournament. The Lady Lions advanced to play Nashville in the Championship match.
The Championship Match was held Thursday October 27 at 6:00 P.M. in CHS Colbert Gymnasium. The Nashville Lady Hornets beat the Lady Lions in two, hard-fought sets, 25-19 and 25-21. With the loss, the Lady Lions were eliminated from post-season competition. The Lady Hornets advanced to compete in the Benton Sectional.
The week of October 24-October 27 Anna-Jonesboro, Mt. Carmel, Chester, and Sparta hosted Regional Tournaments. The winners of those four Regionals will compete October 31-November 2 at the Benton Sectional.