SOLON — The Lady Spartans (ranked 8th in Class 3A) fell 3-0 to the Marion Wolves (ranked No. 3 in Class 4A) Tuesday, Sept. 20 at home.
Marion dominated the first set, taking an 11-5 lead before Coach Mikayla Siddell called for a time out. The Wolves went on to a 25-11 win before taking the second set 25-18. Momentum began to shift Solon’s way in the third set as the Lady Spartans and Wolves tied throughout the game and frequently swapped the lead. Yasmine Sell blasted a kill shot through the Marion ranks for an 11-10 lead, Aly Stahle put up a kill for a 12-11 lead, and Jozie Lahr made it 13-12. Sell put up another kill after a wild series of volleys for a 15-14 advantage. A pair of kills from Delaney Bombei gave the Lady Spartans a 17-15 and 18-16 lead, but the Wolves held on for the 25-23 win.
“I would say in the third set we definitely tried some more offensive plays, and we tried to do what we could to shake up their defense,” said Siddell. “We did switch up our line-up tonight to put up a better block and give us some more options on offense.”
She added the team made many adjustments, and “It’s hard when you switch the line-up and they had to find that groove again, but we definitely tried some things in practice, and seeing it in play; I feel like we found out what works and what doesn’t work. I feel like we put up a good fight.”
Upcoming matches
Independence visits Tuesday, October 4 for Senior Night. Freshman and JV matches start at 5:00 p.m., sophomores go at 6:00 p.m. and varsity is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start. In addition, it will be Fight Cancer Night. Center Point-Urbana will have their invitational tournament Saturday, October 8 at 8:30 a.m. with Solon competing. The WaMaC Tournament is scheduled for Thursday, October 13 at 4:00 p.m. at Mount Vernon. The road to State begins with Regional quarterfinals Monday, October 17, Semifinals Wednesday, October 19, and the Regional Final Tuesday, October 25.
The Lady Spartans huddle before taking on the Class 4A Marion Wolves in a WaMaC East battle Tuesday, Sept. 20. Marion, No. 3 in their class, swept No. 8 in Class 3A Solon 3-0.