First loss of the season for SJO girls

St. Joseph-Ogden's Taylor Barnes dribbles the ball into the paint during her team's home opener against Paris. The Spartans (4-1) suffered their first loss of the season with their 65-46 non-conference loss to the Lady Tigers. Barnes led the SJO scoring effort with nine points. Ashlyn Lannert, Payton Jacob and Alyssa Hamilton each contributed six points apiece. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Photo look: Volleyball places third at state

Eight days ago, the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team defeated Rockford Lutheran after three sets 25-11, 25-20, 25-23 to place third at this year's Class 2A state tournament. Below are ten memorable photographs from more the 500 (not all of them as awesome as these moments as these) from the Spartans' final match of the season on Saturday, November 16.

SJO played 41 matches this season and won 36 of them. Their last four were grueling, emotional three-setters. Their season began with a marathon opening match and loss to eventual state champions St. Teresa, and ended with a three-set, 129-point match against the Lady Crusaders at Redbird Arena.

Emily Bigger and Lacey Kaiser go up for a block on a kill attempt by Rockford Lutheran's Kylie Wilhelmi in the first set. Kaiser was credited with a pair of blocks, seven digs and four kills in the match. Bigger contributed five digs and had 29 of the team's 32 assists. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Kenly Taylor celebrates a point for the Spartans during the first set. Her nine digs along with her defensive efforts in the back row were crucial in SJO ending their season with a victory. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Payton Vallee tips the ball over a Rockford Lutheran blocker. Vallee, a junior, finished the match with four kills and three digs. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

With teammate Payton Vallee looking on and Lacey Kaiser ready to dig a possible block, senior Katelyn Berry takes a huge swing at the ball in set two against the Lady Crusaders. Berry chalked up six kills and six digs in the Spartans' win. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Stretching out as far as can go, Lacey Kaiser dives for a tipped ball in the second set. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Spartans Lindsey Aden and Kennedi Burnett share a smile after Burnett's kill puts SJO up 13-7 in the final set. Burnett, a sophomore, delivered at team-high 14 kills. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

After winning the final set to take the match, two games to one, members of the SJO volleyball team led by seniors Jenna Albrecht and Katelyn Berry sing the school fight song with the student fan section. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Senior Jenna Albrecht flashes a huge smile as she waves to family members and SJO fans at Redbird Arena after receiving her bronze medal during the Class 2A awards ceremony. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

(Left to right) Lacey Kaiser, Lindsey Aden and Jenna Albrecht along with the rest of the volleyball team celebrate with the schools newest piece of state hardware. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Linda Berry photographs her daughter Katelyn and other members of the Spartan volleyball team with the school's third place trophy during the awards ceremony at the IHSA Volleyball State Finals. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Oyster stuffing for Thanksgiving, it's not too popular around here

Stuffing, infused with turkey drippings and a healthy dose of butter, is one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

My grams would make two batches for our family dinner, one batched baked inside the turkey and the other on one of the burners of her gas stove. Ripping up pieces of toasted bread and leaving out overnight, even as she aged, was her preferred method of preparation. If it was in a box, can or package, it wasn't good enough for my grandmother and especially so for the family's Thanksgiving meals.

Occasionally observing the holiday at the homes of others many years ago, a few families made their dressing/stuffing with oysters.

Curious as to how popular this variation was with our readers, I created a poll a little more than a week ago asking, "Do you put oysters in your stuffing?"

Six days and 171 votes later, we learned that 86% of those who responded said "no" to adding chunks of the shellfish when they make their version of the holiday dish.

The majority of the stuffing I've tried - my grandmother's included - were made with traditional ingredients such as onions, celery, spices, butter, broth, and bread. For the record, I'm not a fan of oyster stuffing/dressing or recipes that use mushrooms. However, the thought of using dried fruit and nuts, cranberries or bits of bacon does sound delicious.

Do you have a unique, delicious recipe you would like to share? We would love to hear it and share it with our readers. Email us at editor@oursentinel.com and we may feature it in The Sentinel next week.