Eureka Volleyball Splits with Knox, Dominican

GALESBURG, Ill. – Eureka ended a long day of volleyball with a five-set victory over Knox to secure a split in a triangular at Galesburg on Saturday.

After falling to Dominican in four sets, the Red Devils held on in a thriller against the Prairie Fire that came down to the last points.

Eureka and Knox were tied at 12 when the visitors finished it off by scoring the final three points. Hope McGinnes (Mackinaw, Ill. / Deer Creek-Mackinaw/Lincoln) had back-to-back kills, then Alexis Charlton (Eureka, Ill./Eureka) clinched it. The final score was 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 14-25, 15-12.

Sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn Shell (Evansville, Ind./Mount Vernon) finished with a double-double of a team-high 10 kills and 12 digs. She was also one of three Red Devils to notch three services. Charlton, another sophomore outside hitter, followed with nine kills and had two block assists.

Middle blocker Frannie Heckman (Benson, Ill./Roanoke-Benson) and McGinnes each recorded six kills, with McGinnes hitting a team-best .231, notching 14 assists as setter and coming up with 11 digs. Fellow setter Sara Hart (Secor, Ill./Eureka) distributed 16 assists and had 17 digs. Regan Reed (Flanagan, Ill./Flanagan-Cornell) posted a team-high 23 digs.

At the net, the Red Devils notched 13 total blocks, with LaNya Love (East St. Louis, Mo./Cahokia/Lincoln) delivering a team-high four. Heckman, McGinnes and Madison Richards (Princeton, Ill./Princeton) each had two, along with Charlton.  

The Red Devils got off to a good start in their second match of the day, notching a team-best 10 kills in the first set and edging the Prairie Fire by two. They cooled a bit in the second set, but still managed to roll to a 25-19 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Knox held off the Red Devils in the third set and then hit a match-best .351 in the fourth set to send it to five. Eureka bounced back with nine kills in 15 points while hitting team-best .259 to close it out.

In the first match of the day, the Red Devils evened the match at 1-1 with a 25-13 win in Set 2, but the Stars took the next two to win it in four.

Shell racked up a team-high 13 kills, 15 digs and three aces while hitting .367 at the net. Heckman added nine kills. Reed posted a team-high 17 digs. McGinnes distributed 19 assists and registered 11 digs, while Hart had 16 assists.

Eureka is now 4-3 on the season. The Red Devils will next travel to Beloit (1-7) for a 7 p.m. non-conference match on Tuesday.