A busy night of Little Illini Conference volleyball lies ahead on Thursday, with all eight teams engaged, six in league matchups.

Here’s the lineup (conference record listed in parenthesis):
Casey-Westfield (1-1) at Mt. Carmel (2-0), 6:00 p.m.
Lawrenceville (0-2) at Newton (1-0), 6:00 p.m.
Marshall (0-1) at Robinson (0-1), 6:00 p.m.

There is a lot on the line even at this early juncture. For Casey-Westfield, it’s a must-win game against a Mt. Carmel team bidding to get out of the gate at 3-0 in league play. The Warriors certainly don’t want to fall two games back on the loss side in the standings.

Defending champ Newton, coming off a second-place finish at the Effingham St. Anthony Invitational, including a semifinal win over the host Bulldogs, would like to stay undefeated in league play, and pin Lawrenceville with its’ third straight conference loss.

For both Marshall and Robinson, the goal is the same: avoid a second loss in league play.

Olney (1-0), like Mt. Carmel and Newton undefeated in LIC games, hosts state-ranked Edwards County in a non-conference game. The Tigers are only one win away from matching their entire win total of last year. And, Paris (1-1) faces a tough Oblong team at home in non-conference play on Thursday.

Statistically speaking, Marshall boasts of two of the top 15 players in the state (all classes) in hitting percentage: impressive freshman Lilly Ross is fifth at .428, while Harper Richardson is 11th at .389.

Paris also has two players near the top. Eva Smith is fourth in aces with 52. Kailey Young is 25th in assists with 316.