The first round of Little Illini Conference volleyball league games is coming up on Thursday night, with three games on tap. The league sports an impressive non-conference mark of 55-23 (.705) to date, so there is no shortage of confidence heading into the 28-game campaign that decides the LIC title.
Confidence is one thing, but reality is quite another. The fact is Newton has won or shared the last five Little Illini championships. This year’s Lady Eagles are off to a 9-0 start, and though no statewide polls have been released yet, Max Preps has rated Newton No. 1 in Class 2A, just ahead of neighborhood rivals Teutopolis and Effingham St. Anthony, which should make for a very interesting post-season run (Fairfield is rated fifth as well).
Two other teams with a shot at the league crown could make some noise in Class 1A as well. Casey-Westfield fell only to 9-2 after a loss to St.Joseph-Ogden on Tuesday. And, Lawrenceville is off to a 9-3 start after winning two games on Saturday at a tournament in Robinson, including a win over Marshall which does not count as a league affair.
A total of seven of the eight league schools have records at or above the .500 mark. Only defending co-champion Mt. Carmel (4-6) is under water at this point.
Here is the complete LIC league volleyball schedule:
Thursday, Sept. 10
Olney at Lawrenceville
Marshall at Mt. Carmel
Paris at Casey-Westfield
Thursday, Sept. 17
Mt. Carmel at Robinson
Lawrenceville at Paris
Casey-Westfield at Newton
Thursday, Sept. 24
Robinson at Marshal
Mt. Carmel at Casey-Westfield
Newton at Lawrenceville
Tuesday, Sept. 29
Marshall at Olney
Lawrenceville at Mt. Carmel
Casey-Westfield at Robinson
Thursday, Oct. 1
Mt. Carmel at Olney
Paris at Marshall
Lawrenceville at Casey-Westfield
Newton at Robinson
Tuesday, Oct. 6
Olney at Paris
Newton at Mt. Carmel
Robinson at Lawrenceville
Thursday, Oct. 8
Marshall at Newton
Paris at Mt. Carmel
Olney at Robinson
Thursday, Oct. 15
Casey-Westfield at Marshall
Paris at Marshall
Newton at Olney
Thursday, Oct. 22
Olney at Casey-Westfield
Paris at Newton
Marshall at Lawrenceville
LITTLE ILLINI CONFERENCE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Gathered from Max Preps (Note: Not all LIC teams are reporting stats.)
Hitting Pct: 1. Lillian Ross, Marshall .421, 2. Nora Adams, Paris .339, 3. Layla Thomann, Newton .303.
Kills: Lillian Ross, Marshall 72, 2. Bria Waggoner, Lawrenceville 66, 3. Harper Richardson, Marshall 59.
Assists: 1. Jossie Stanley, Newton 125, 2. Sicily Rawlings, Robinson 117, 3. Kailey Young, Paris 97.
Serving Aces: 1. Reagan Ivers, Lawrenceville 21, 2. Macy Root, Lawrenceville 17, 3. Lillian Ross, Marshall 16.
Blocks: 1. Bria Waggoner, Lawrenceville 15, 2. Stella Schackmann, Newton 14, 3. Lillian Ross, Marshall 12.
Digs: 1. Macy Root, Lawrenceville 90, 2. Allie Hermann, Newton 85, 3. Reagan Ivers, Lawrenceville 68.
