Logan spikers improve to 10-0 in GRAC matches

CARTERVILLE - Bill Burnside jokingly says his John A. Logan College volleyball team takes him on a roller coaster ride every night. He was referring to the proverbial ups and downs, but roller coasters are always run, right?

The Lady Vols are certainly on a fun ride this season, especially when it comes to Great Rivers Athletic Conference matches. Logan stayed perfect in the GRAC on Wednesday night with a 23-25, 25-13, 25-12, 25-16 win over Wabash Valley at Brewer Gymnasium.

The victory put the JALC spikers at 19-8 overall and 10-0 in the GRAC.

"I'm surprised because we have a lot of freshmen," Burnside said. "Pretty much all of our starting hitters except one is a freshman. So I've been a little surprised that we've been able to be that successful."

So what has been the main ingredient to the GRAC success?

"I wish I knew the key to it," Burnside said. "I really don't know. But I'm glad we are where we are."

Kim Hall, one of those 10 freshmen on the Logan roster, led the Lady Vols with 17 kills in Wednesday's match. Hall is a 5-foot-9 outside hitter from Breese Central.

"Kim has been like a rock for us," Burnside said. "Even when we're struggling, she can still be productive. She's played so much good volleyball up in the Metro East area that she's a little more consistent than everybody else. She's very aggressive and consistent and if you can do that at our level you're in good shape."

Olivia Hallet, another tall freshman outside hitter, added 14 kills. Kameryn Sillmon, an even taller freshman from Belleville, added six kills and a ton of energy. Freshman libero Alanis Below had 16 digs, while sophomore setter Shelbey Say had 24 assists and Taytum Murdock, a sophomore, had 21 assists.

Harrisburg native Bryleigh Buchanan and Carbondale's Naudia Johnson, both freshmen, were also key contributors for the Lady Vols in the win. Sophomore Tatum Gaines was also big at the net, helping Logan collect 17 blocks in the match.

The Lady Vols were scheduled to host Shawnee College on Thursday night and have two more home matches coming up against Lake Land on Monday and Vincennes on Wednesday.