VOLLEYBALL: Sesser-Valier fights off Du Quoin to advance

Du Quoin didn't go down without a fight, but Sesser-Valier fought off some spirited rallies by the Lady Indians to hang on for a 25-19, 25-22 victory in round one of the IHSA Class 2A Regional tournament held at DHS.

"The girls played well tonight," said Du Quoin coach Jo C. Dill, "they passed well. Alaina (Caldwell) did a great job, as usual. Our hitters, once they settled down, were hitting well. Hope (Fenton) was coming off a concussion, she hasn't played in a week, week and a half, and she played amazing."

"It sucks really bad for these seniors. I really thought we were going to finish that (second game) off and roll through it. It just didn't go our way tonight."

The Lady Indians trailed in the first set by as many as eleven points before closing to within three at 21-18, but the Lady Devils regrouped to win four of the next five points and take a 1-0 lead.

Du Quoin seemed to have righted the ship again early in the second set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead, but Sesser-Valier chipped away and looked to be in command up 20-14.

With elimination staring them in the face, the Lady Indians were able to mount a rally, winning eight of the next nine points to grab the lead at 22-21. But again, the Lady Red Devils responded, closing the game out strong with four straight points.

"I think they played a little nervous at the start," Dill said of her players, "I told them at one point, 'you need to play like you want to play tomorrow, not that you're afraid you won't be playing tomorrow.' I think we had to overcome some jitters, we had a freshman starting, we had a sophomore starting."

"I think that first game we just dug ourselves in a hole too early (11 down), and in the second game we started out well with the 5-0 run at the start, and then we made some uncharacteristic mistakes. It wasn't just that we made mistakes, we made them at a bad time. "

Du Quoin's statistical leaders for the night included Fenton with six kills, Caldwell with ten assists, Kenzie Jackson with a pair of blocks, and Amanda Atteberry with seven digs. Jackson and Jordyn Bullar each added three kills, Caldwell chipped in six digs.

The Lady Indians finish with a record of 3-25 on the season. Sesser-Valier moves on to Tuesday's semifinals and will meet Albion at 5:30 p.m. in Du Quoin.

"We're going to regroup and come back with almost all of our starters next year," said Dill. "Some younger players that also suffered some injuries will be coming back next year as well. I'm really excited for the future to see what this team is going to do as we build and we grow."