Volleyball team revels in Senior Night victory

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Moving to 25-4 on the season, the SJO volleyball team knock off visiting Olympia 2-0.

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 by Clark Brooks
Sports Writer

ST. JOSEPH – Lindsey Aden went out in style at her final home volleyball game. The senior delivered three aces in St. Joseph-Ogden’s 2-0 victory over visiting Olympia on Tuesday night. Notching their 10th consecutive win, the maroon- and Columbia blue-clad Spartans now boast an impressive 25-4 record as the regular season draws to a close.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

While her father Mark smiles holding one of her many mementos, Emily Bigger receives a kiss from her mother Melissa during SJO's senior night recognition on Tuesday prior to the start of volleyball team's final home match of the season. Bigger, a four-year volleyball veteran, is also involved in Spanish Club, FCA, National Honor Society and the school's Advisory Mentoring Program. She and eight other seniors received gifts and were thank for their contribution to program's success over the past four seasons.

Katelyn Berry, one of nine seniors honored earlier during the Senior Night recognition ceremony, led SJO with a match-high 10 kills. The four-year veteran was also credited with three digs.

"It's so weird, so sad, honestly," said Berry, who was multitasking between processing the first of many milestones of her senior year and celebrating her team's victory. "It felt good to get the win."

It was nearly an even matchup for the first half of the opening set until the home team blasted seven unanswered points to go up 18-11. After allowing their opponent six more points, SJO closed out the set with a down-the-line boomer from junior Kennedi Burnett for a 25-17 finish.

"We started off slow but came back," Berry said, analyzing the opening set. "We need to work on starting out stronger."

In a mirrored start of the first set, SJO dropped the first point of the second and let Olympia take a 3-1 lead. The Spartans trailed for just three of the next 20 exchanges until the score reached 10-all.

"We kept our composure," said head coach Abby McDonald, whose program improved to 7-1, second in the Illini Prairie Conference behind St. Thomas More. "We played a mature match, and we made it count when we needed to."

Calm and self-assured, McDonald’s team turned up the intensity, collecting five points for every one they relinquished to the visiting Spartans. Olympia called a timeout at 19-12, hoping the break would shift the momentum back to their side of the court, but it was too late.

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Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

LEFT: Brodie Sullivan leads fellow football players and volleyball fans in singing Sweet Caroline before the start of St. Joseph-Ogden's last home match of the season. RIGHT: Senior Katelyn Berry puts the ball away during set two of SJO's home match against Olympia. SJO play their final conference match of the season at Monticello Thursday and start their postseason campaign next Tuesday at Oakwood High School.

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The Spartans were playing in the zone. In their happy place, Berry, along with Burnett and Stephanie Trame, registered four kills in the final eight points of the match, sealing their Illini Prairie Conference win, 25-14.

Burnett finished the contest with five kills, seven digs and two aces for SJO. Jenna Albrecht added four more kills, and Emily Bigger tallied 24 assists. Fellow senior Kenly Taylor contributed five digs and an ace in the home court finale.

Olympia’s offense was led by juniors Abby Stine and Bella Dickhut, who each had four kills. Senior Kaelyn Leverson recorded 20 assists. The Spartans fall to 4-4 in the conference and 15-13 overall.

St. Joseph-Ogden, which has lost just one road match out of 13 this season, squares off next at Monticello (19-13) in the final IPC match of the season. The Sages boast a 7-1 record at home going into tomorrow night’s contest.

McDonald is eagerly looking forward to the match in Monticello and competing in the annual Mt. Pulaski tournament this weekend. SJO will face Mt. Zion and Illini Central in pool play on Saturday morning.

"I think this group plays much better on the road," she said.

Great Value products recalled

Before you chow down on those sausage patties in the morning you might want to look at the label first.

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) released a statement that more than six thousand pounds of ready-to-eat pork sausage and turkey patty products produced in George's Prepared Foods' Caryville, Tennessee facility is subject to recall after a small quantity tested positive for Salmonella.

The contaminated product packaged under the Great Value brand name may have been distributed to Walmart Stores after their third-party cold storage facility inadvertently shipped the meat products.

If you purchased these items you are urged not to eat them and return it to the place of purchase for a refund or exchange, or thrown away immediately.

"FSIS is concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers' refrigerators or freezers or both," the agency announced in Friday'statement. "Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase." Here are the packaged goods recalled :

Product Name: Great Value Original Breakfast Turkey Patties 24.92oz
UPC: 0007874212373 Best If used By Date: 10/24/2019 EST Number: 2260T

Product Name: Great Value Fully Cooked Original Pork Sausage Patties 35.6oz
UPC: 0007874203062 Best If used By Date: 11/05/19 EST Number: 2260T

Product Name: Great Value Fully Cooked Original Pork Sausage Patties 35.6oz
UPC: 0007874203062 Best If used By Date: 11/03/19 EST Number: 2260T

Product Name: Great Value Original Pork Sausage Patties 24.9oz
UPC: 0007874202095 Best If used By Date: 10/16/19 EST Number: 2260T

Salmonella symptoms usually start 12 to 72 hours after the contaminate food has been eaten. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever. While most people recover in four to seven days without treatment, death may occur with older people, infants, or those with compromised immune systems.

As of today there has not been any reported illness attributed to the listed products. George's issued a statement on their website confirming the recall.

Bigger pounds 6 aces against BCC, Burnett lights up the floor with double-double

SJO's Payton Vallee goes up to block a kill attempt by Bloomington Central Catholic's Kate Moorman-Wolfe. Vallee had five kills against the Saints. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

A one-two combination comprised of Emily Bigger's serves and Kennedi Burnett's thunderous spikes was too much for the visiting Central Catholic (4-19 overall) volleyball team to handle. Thanks to the duo, the Spartan offense rolled to a 2-0 sweep over the Saints on Wednesday.

SJO dominated the opening set from the get-go. After dropping the first point, Bigger & Co. rattled of the nine unanswered points to take a 9-1 lead. It was a hole too deep for Central Catholic to recover from with the Spartan's hitters keeping the deficit at seven points or more the remainder of the set.

Up by 11 at 21-10, BCC would score one more point before the senior dominated squad closed out a brilliantly played set, 25-11.

The Spartans meticulously built a six-point lead after the first 14 points of the second set to go up, 10-4. The Saints, playing a much better defensive game, closed the gap to 11-8 and got within three points again at 12-9 before SJO's offense reignited.

After two unanswered points followed by a five-point run and then six unanswered points, SJO took commanding lead at 23-11. Three serves later the match was over ending the final set, 25-12.

Kennedi Burnett hits the ball down-the-line for one of her 10 kills. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

"I thought we played one of the best matches we've played all season," said head coach Abby McDonald, now three victories away from hitting the 300-win milestone. "They really embraced the changes we made this week and rose to the challenge."

Completely in the zone, Burnett collected a double-double with ten kills and ten digs. The senior also booked two of the team's four blocks. Classmate Katelyn Berry, hitting .467 for the evening, contributed eight kills and four digs to the cause.

Then there was Bigger. Outdoing her four-ace performance against Rantoul earlier in the week, she added another six to her career stats. The senior also had three digs and smashed a pair of kills on Saints.

Rounding out the total team effort, Payton Vallee was credited with five of the team's 31 kills in the conference win to help the Spartans pick up their 18th win of the season. Rylee Stahl, Kenly Taylor and Lacey Kaiser with three kills, each had five digs apiece.