Shiloh sweeps New Salem-Almont
The second set of Thursday's volleyball game was an exhausting one for junior Harper Wrigley. Wrigley served 17 consecutive times, including 3 aces when Shiloh went up 17-0 against New Salem-Almont. After winning the first set a dominant 25-15, the Skyhawks scored 17 unanswered points and Wrigley was on the court serving and playing for them all.
Wrigley finished with six aces in Shiloh's sweep of New Salem-Almont, two in the first, three in the second, and the game-winning point in the sweep-securing third set.
"When I was slapping the ball, I just think to myself, 'God is within her, she will not fail,'" said Wrigley. "I just keep repeating it, and then I just serve and put a little aggression in there and pray."
Shiloh swept the Holsteins, winning the first set 25-15 and the second and third sets 25-8. It was Shiloh's first victory over a regional opponent after falling to Central McLean in three sets earlier in the month.
"It was a good regional win for us today," said head coach Lisa Wingerter. "We struggled a little bit in our last region game, so it was nice to see the girls come out with some energy and some fire and just really executing their hitting and their defense."
Shiloh started the game strong, going up 4-0 to start the first set after a series of Holstein errors and a good serve by Brooklyn Fuller. New Salem pulled close to the Skyhawks, getting to within one but a service error by New Salem restored Shiloh's multi-point lead and from there Shiloh held onto and built the lead to win their first set.
The second set was dominant from start to finish. Shiloh built up an insurmountable lead and held off NSA to get the set victory.
"Harper went on a major roll there," said Wingerter. "She is a great server, and she serves with a lot of intensity. And when she gets in a rhythm, she just rolls."
The third set started with an ace, but this time one from Emily Schuette, who added three more aces in the third set. Her four aces contributed to an early 9-0 lead in the third.
Wingerter said that the decision to push back the set of bleachers toward the back end of the court might have helped contribute to Shiloh's strong serving performance.
"I don't want to use this as an excuse, but we pushed the bleachers back," said Wingerter. "So, I don't know if it's just like the room behind them to be able to be comfortable serving, but when these girls get into a rhythm, they just can execute."
New Salem-Almont tried to push back, but like the second set, the lead Shiloh had built and their defense was insurmountable. With Shiloh's 10th ace of the game and her sixth, Wrigley put the final nail in New Salem-Almont's coffin, winning the third set.
Past the strong serving performance by Shiloh, they were also displaying their new-look defense, which was an area they struggled in during their first regional matchup.
"We changed our defense up a little bit with our back row, so there's less confusion," said Wingerter. "And so girls are getting comfortable with playing beside each other."
Part of that defense on Thursday night was Wrigley, who had nine digs and stepped up defensively in the 17-0 when the team was without libero Aftan Wanner for a long stretch of time. Defense was something that Wrigley had been working on before the start of the season.
"I worked a lot this summer," said Wrigley "That was really not my thing. I really put the work in this this summer and during travel season. I focused on that a lot, because that was really my weak link."
Even though Wrigley and Schuette led the team in aces, the dominant win over New Salem-Almont was a total team effort.
"Everyone did fantastic, like in each set, we had a different standout for each set," said Wingerter. "So it's really nice to have that availability of hitters that can just go on a run for us at any given time. So really proud of the girls tonight."
Shiloh hopes to keep the positive momentum going as they continue play and look to collect more regional wins.
"We are going to keep this going by working harder in the gym and still tweaking things that are a little bit rough around the edges," said Wingerter. "And our region is still tough, so we still got a long ways to go."
