Lady Knights wallop Greenwave, clash with Titans

By Ray Popkess

Triad Volleyball traveled to Jerseyville on Oct. 28 to take on Mattoon in a regional semifinal match. They took with them their 20-15 regular season record, including four separate three-match win streaks, which also included a stretch against Civic Memorial, Jersey and top-ranked Waterloo.

The Knights leaped out of the gate in the first set, forcing the Greenwave to call a timeout down four points, 20-16. The timeout was indeed effective, as the Greenwave earned six of the next 11 points, but the Knights only needed five to claim set one.

Triad found themselves down 16-13 in the second set before calling a timeout. It was less effective for the Knights, as Mattoon took the equalizing set, 25-19.

Triad was the first to 10 in the third set and didn’t look back despite attempts to regroup from the Greenwave. Triad sophomore Josie Stottler led the floor with 11 kills in the match, followed by junior Allison Adomite with six for the Knights. Heidi Boehning earned one of her 22 assists on the final point of the match, a kill from Adomite that punched the Knights ticket to the Regional Championship.

There, the Titans of Glenwood awaited them, whom they had not won a set against in their previous two matchups of the season. Glenwood forcefully took set one, 25-9. During the second set, junior libero Grace Parker picked up her 1,000th dig of her Triad Varsity career. The Knights dropped the set 25-11, and the Titans have advanced to back-to-back sectional semifinals.