Newton Advances, WSS Falls In Volleyball Sectionals

SHELBYVILLE -- Newton High School advanced to the championship of the Class 2A Shelbyville Sectional with a victory Tuesday evening.

The Eagles picked up a 25-19 win in the opening set over Pana. But the Panthers came back with a 25-21 victory in the second set. The match went to the Eagles with a final 25-17 count.

Kline led the Eagles with 10 kills, three blocks and 12 digs. Cohorst led in aces with four. Hartrich had 27 assists.

Newton is now 30-7 on the season.

In the opening match, host Shelbyville also went three sets before beating Piasa Southwestern. The Rams won the opener 25-11 before Piasa came back with a 25-18 count. Shelbyville then claimed the victory 25-12. The Rams are now 35-3 on the season.

Newton will now face Shelbyville at 7 p.m. Thursday for the sectional championship.

At Shelbyville

Newton -- Cohorst, 4 aces, 3 kills, 2 blocks, 12 digs; Weber, 2 aces, 8 digs; Hartrich, 1 ace, 2 kills, 27 assists, 1 block, 8 digs; Kline, 1 ace, 10 kills, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 12 digs; Frohning, 9 kills, 1 block, 1 dig; Johnson, 8 kills, 5 digs; Earnest, 2 kills, 1 assist, 1 block; Pilman, 6 digs

Class 1A Decatur Lutheran Sectional

Unfortunately for Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg, the season came to a close in the Decatur Lutheran Sectional Tuesday evening.

Cissna Park claimed the opening win over WSS 25-20. The Hatchets opened with several aces but Cissna Park came back to go on a 10-point run. The second set went about the same as the first as WSS pushed out to a quick lead but Cissna Park came back to regain control then had to fight off a challenge to win 29-27.

"We are sad to see the season end, but the girls really had an awesome season," said WSS Coach Ronda Schlechte. "They really pushed hard and almost took set two. We bounced back after trailing by several so I'm really proud of their fight.

"We have a lot to be proud of with this first season of the co-op. Of course, I wish we could have continued, but we had a hard road to state and we were bound to hit a snag along the way."

Autumn Bennett led in aces with three and kills with six. Becca Schlechte had 12 digs and 17 assists. Carson Cole led in digs with 15. The Hatchets finish the season with a 28-10 record.

In the second match, Farmer City/Blue Ridge defeated Chrisman 25-20, 25-13. Farmer City/Blue Ridge now faces Cissna Park at 7 p.m. Thursday for the sectional championship.

At Decatur

Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg -- Bennett, 3 aces, 6 killsl, 7 digs, 1 solo block, 1 block assist; B. Schlechte, 3 kills, 17 assists, 12 digs, 1 block assist; Kaufman, 1 ace, 4 kills, 4 digs, 2 block assists; Gentry, 1 assist, 2 digs; M. Schlechte, 5 kills, 8 digs; Tabbert, 4 kills, 3 assists, 11 digs; Cole, 1 assist, 15 digs; Haddock, 1 ace, 1 dig

Class 1A St. Elmo/Brownstown Sectional

Clay City has now gone where no other Clay City volleyball team has gone before . . . The Wolves picked up a three-set victory over Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran and set a school record for wins.

Clay City won the opener 25-20, but Metro-East Lutheran came back to take the second set 25-23. Clay City then went out with a 25-21 victory and now sports a 28-2 record.

The Wolves were led by Macy Hance with six kills and 10 digs. Tori Matanich had five kills while Olivia Bangert had seven digs.

In the second match, Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran also went three sets before downing Cisne 25-15, 21-25, 25-20.

Clay City now takes on Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran at  6 p.m. Thursday for the sectional title.