Red Devils Start Fast, Fall in Four Against Greenville

EUREKA – The Eureka volleyball team had The Reagan rocking during an electric 27-25, Set 1 victory over Greenville on Tuesday.

The Panthers, however, came back and took the next three sets to win it, 25-27, 25-19, 25-12, 25-8, at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.

Payton Florine (Galesburg, Ill./Abingdon-Avon/Lincoln) recorded a team-high seven kills for the maroon and gold. Halle Gauna (Arcola, Ill./Arcola/Lincoln Trail College) followed with six kills, two solo blocks and one block assist to finish with a team-high 10.5 points.

Daizjah Shannon (East St. Louis, Ill./Cahokia/Lincoln) and Madison Richards (Princeton, Ill./Princeton) each had five.

Hope McGinnes (Mackinaw, Ill./Deer Creek-Mackinaw/Lincoln) and Emma Sandlin (Greentown, Ind./Eastern) recorded 10 assists apiece, while libero Jurnee Flournoy (Decatur, Ill./Decatur MacArthur)

The Red Devils outhit the Panthers .212 to .174 in the first set of the night while recording 11 kills and only four hitting errors on 33 swings.

The home team got off to a solid start and fed off it as the game progressed. Eureka led by three early on, and back-to-back kills by Florine made it 12-8.

When Greenville answered with a 9-1 run, the Red Devils didn't back down. Trailing by four, they fought their way back, using a 5-0 run with McGinnes at the service line

to reach set point first. Gauna and Florine each had a kill and Gauna came up with a huge block. A bad set by Greenville made it 24-23.

Greenville's Taryn Russell answered with a kill to tie it at 24-24, but Florine responded with another to give Eureka the advantage again. Greenville came back with another point off a kill by Anna Beth Vancil  to lock things back up at 25-25, then Shannon produced a clutch block to make it set point for the Red Devils once again.

Gauna closed the door with an ace on the next point.

The Red Devils hung with Greenville during a competitive Set 2, but they played from behind throughout Sets 3 and 4.

Greenville's Mia Bonacorsi finished with a match-high 21 kills, while teammates Taryn Russell and Lainey Hicks had 13 and 10, respectively.

Eureka (3-18, 2-13 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) will next host Fontbonne (17-8, 12-2 SLIAC)  and Blackburn (7-20, 2-11 SLIAC) in a SLIAC tri-match on Friday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. It will be the last home matches of the 2023 season for the Red Devils.