TOLONO - Danika Eisenmenger gives Shelby Smith a high-five before the start of the third inning in the Rockets' home game against Oakwood. Eisenmenger earned the win, helping Unity defeat the Comets 9-0. She finished game 1-for-2 at bat with two RBI. Here are more photos from last weeks game at Unity High School.
St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball drops first match of the season 25-13, 25-17. Emma McKinney leads with six digs. Home opener vs. Mahomet-Seymour on Sept. 2.
BISMARCK - The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team continued its early-season road swing on Thursday, falling in straight sets to Bismarck-Henning, 25-19, 25-16.
Emerson Williams paced the Spartans with four kills and six assists, while setter Emma McKinney dished out 11 assists to go with two kills. Ally Schmitz contributed two kills and three digs, and both Hadley McDonald and Addi Childers added two kills apiece. Childers also led the blocking effort with two at the net.
Defensively, libero Katie Ericksen anchored the back row with 11 digs. Despite the effort, SJO (0-2) mustered only seven kills in each set and couldn’t find the consistency to extend the match.
The Spartans face a demanding schedule next week, starting Saturday with a matchup at Mahomet-Seymour. The Bulldogs, last year’s Class 3A state champions, also visit SJO for the Spartans’ home opener on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Main Gym.
From there, Williams and company hit the road again, traveling to Armstrong-Potomac on Wednesday before heading to Teutopolis on Thursday. The week wraps up with a trip to the Mattoon Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.
Bismarck-Henning (1-1), which lost its opener to Unity, heads to Danville on Tuesday before hosting Villa Grove on Thursday.
Match Leaders – SJO at Bismarck-Henning
Emerson Williams: 4 kills, 6 assists
Emma McKinney: 11 assists, 2 kills
Ally Schmitz: 2 kills, 3 digs
Hadley McDonald: 2 kills
Addi Childers: 2 kills, 2 blocks
Katie Ericksen: 11 digs
TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball 2025 schedule,SJO vs Bismarck-Henning volleyball recap, Mahomet-Seymour vs St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball preview, Spartan athletics volleyball coverage
Oakwood - Senior Jaydah Arrowsmith, along with Salt Fork duo Alexa Jamison and Macie Russell, received first-team selection by Vermilion Valley Conference coaches this week. Arrowsmith, who dropped 32 points against Hoopeston Area in their game back in February, was the lone Oakwood player earning first-team honors. Haven Meyer from Watseka and Cissna Park's Addison Luchts rounded out the roster for the conference's top team.
Below is the complete list of players and the schools they represented in the 2023-24 season.
VERMILION VALLEY CONFERENCE
All-Conference Teams
First Team
Addison Lucht
Sophomore • Cissna Park
Jaydah Arrowsmith
Senior • Oakwood
Alexa Jamison
Junior • Salt Fork
Macie Russell
Senior • Salt Fork
Haven Meyer
Senior • Watseka
Second Team
Lauryn Hamrick
Sophomore • Cissna Park
Kendall Roberts
Senior • Georgetown-Ridge Farm
Claire Dixon
Junior • Hoopeston
Hunter Mowrey
Senior • Milford
Megan Martin
Junior • Watseka
HOOPESTON -- Anthony Zamora stepped up with a 15 point finish to lead Hoopeston Area to a 54-46 conference win over Westville on Tuesday.
Zamora, averaging 12.3 points per game, made six of his eight shots from the field and drained half of his attempts from the line. The senior collected a team-high five steals.
Junior Owen Root and sophomore Trenton Montez also finished with double-digit scores against the Tigers. Root logged two boards and two assist to give the Vermilion Valley team their first conference win of the season with his 13 points performance. Montez came off the bench to score 10 points, four from the charity stripe.
The Cornjerkers improve to 4-5 on the season. The team travels to Milford (5-2) on Thursday to face the Bearcats in another conference test and follows up with another game on Friday evening at St. Anne (2-9), who are 1-3 at home against opponents this season.
Seven Vermilion County athletes were named to the Vermilion Vally Conferece All-Conference team this week. The following players earned first-team recognition for their performance during the 2021-22 season:
Kyla Bullington, Junior Armstrong-Potomac
Sophia Rome, Senior Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin
Mikayla Knake, Junior Cissna Park
Tori Birge, Senior
Hoopeston Area
Anna Hagan, Senior Milford
Addie Wright, Junior Oakwood
Alexa Jamison, Freshman
Salt Fork
Macie Russell, Sophomore Salt Fork
Sydney McTaggart, Senior Watseka
Allie Hoy, Senior Watseka
SPECIAL MENTION: Mattie Kennel, Jr. (Armstrong); Addison Spesard, Fr. (GRF); Bre Crose, Jr. (HA); Ashlynn Pinnick, Sr. (Oakwood); Hadley Cox, Sr. (Westville); Shea Small, Jr. (IW); Ilyana Nambo, So. (IW); Hunter Mowrey, So. (Milford)
HONORABLE MENTION: Maddie Hudson, Sr. (Armstrong); Natalie Clapp, Jr. (BHRA); Kendl Lemmon, Sr. (Chrisman); Emma Morrical, Sr. (Cissna Park); Kendall Roberts, So. (GRF); Lacie Breymeyer, Jr. (HA); Destiny Thomas, Sr. (IW); Brynlee Wright, Jr. (Milford); Karsen Rupp, Sr. (Oakwood); Karlie Cain, Jr. (Salt Fork); Madison Watson, Jr. (SA); Claire Curry, Sr. (Watseka); Lydia Gondzur, Jr. (Westville)
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