Article by T Ray Henry
On Thursday, October 23rd, the Marshall Lions volleyball team welcomed the Lawrenceville High School Indians to McNary Gymnasium on Senior Night for Marshall seniors Avery Cornwell, Anna Daugherty, Ella Mattas, and Addy Ross. In front of the largest crowd of the 2025 season, which also had the biggest turnout of Marshall students on hand, along with the greatest pep band in Lincoln Land, the senior student athletes were honored with their parents between the junior varsity and varsity matches. These four special seniors have led a resurgence on the volleyball court for Marshall, and along with juniors Harper Richardson, Ellie Delp, and McKenzie Davis, sophomore Ali Sheets, and freshman Lilly Ross in the primary rotation, this year’s team came into the regular season finale with a record of 21-7.
Standing in the Lions’ way were the Indians from Lawrenceville, who have hovered near the .500 mark all season and came in with a record of 16-19. If the campaign for Lawrenceville were to be described in a few words, it would be a story of good Indians, bad Indians. When they’ve been good, they’ve been really good, registering big wins over Casey-Westfield, Robinson, and LIC conference leader Mount Carmel along the way using their outside striking advantage. It certainly got Marshall’s attention when Lawrenceville defeated Mount Carmel last weekend. The Lions expected a battle in a sea of red inside The Mac.
In an absolute electrifying atmosphere inside the venerable old gymnasium on the campus of Marshall High School, the Lions and Indians put on a classic volleyball thriller which for those in attendance will not soon be forgotten. In a back-and-forth affair, each set went down to the wire. The opening set began with Lawrenceville taking an early 5-1 lead as Marshall’s only point was scored by Harper Richardson on a kill. A tip winner by Richardson paced the Lions, but the Indians still maintained an 8-3 lead before Marshall’s Lilly Ross and Ellie Delp each scored kills to bring the Lions within 3 points at 8-5.
The visitors built their lead back up to 5 points with the score 14-9 the Lions got back within 3 on a kill by McKenzie Davis and a tip winner by Addy Ross to make it 14-11. Later, a kill and tip winner by Lilly Ross kept the Lions within 3 at 17-14, and another kill by Lilly Ross kept the home side within 3 at 19-16. Lilly Ross then stepped up to the serving line and served consecutive aces to make it a one-point set with Lawrenceville in the lead 19-18.
Lawrenceville went up by 2 before Marshall’s Harper Richardson dialed up a kill to get the Lions back within one, then Marshall tied it up at 20 when a Lawrenceville hit went out of bounds. The teams tied again at 22 before Marshall’s Ella Mattas scored a kill to put Marshall ahead 23-22. Unfortunately, Mattas’ kill was the final point of the set for Marshall as Lawrenceville won the next three straight points to win the opening set 25-23.
In the early stages of the second set, Lawrenceville once again started fast and led 7-3. Marshall’s only points were scored by Ella Mattas, who scored a kill and an ace, and Lilly Ross with another kill. The Lions responded by scoring five straight points to take an 8-7 lead on kills by Lilly Ross and Harper Richardson, an ace served by Addy Ross, and a tip winner by Lilly Ross which preceded a timeout by Lawrenceville.
The teams engaged in a seesaw battle, with one team scoring a point or two, then the other team responded by scoring to tie it back up. In the second set alone, Marshall and Lawrenceville tied the score a remarkable 12 times. During the seesaw phase of action, which had fans of both teams breathless with the quality of play, Marshall got scores from Lilly Ross (3 kills, ace), Harper Richardson (2 kills, tip winner), Ella Mattas (3 kills), and Anna Daugherty (kill).
With the score all tied up at 22, Lawrenceville scored two straight points to take a 24-22 lead. With the Lions facing match point, a huge block followed by an ace served by Harper Richardson tied the set up at 24. Lawrenceville went ahead 25-24 to get to another match point, but Marshall’s Lilly Ross smashed a kill to tie it back up at 25. On the next point, Lawrenceville hit the ball out of bounds, so Marshall now had its first set point after fending off three set (and Match) points. The Lions didn’t waste time, and when Ellie Delp laced a kill to the floor on the Indians’ side of the court, Marshall came away with a hard-fought 27-25 win in the second set to send the match to a third and deciding set. After watching their junior varsity squad play in a multitude of three-set matches this season, the varsity squad said, “Why not? It’s Senior Night - let’s play a three-setter, too.” What a third set it was…
Although the Lions got points from Lilly Ross (3 kills, tip winner), McKenzie Davis (kill), Avery Cornwell (ace), Ellie Delp (kill), Anna Daugherty (ace), and Harper Richardson (2 kills), the Lions found themselves down by as many as six points in the final set, the latest juncture being with the score 18-12. The Big Red never gave up, though, and they marched back into it to get within two points at 23-21. During the Marshall run, Lilly Ross (3 kills, tip winner), Ellie Delp (tip winner), and Harper Richardson (kill) scored for the Lions.
On the next crucial point, Lawrenceville won it to go ahead 24-21, giving the Indians their fourth match point of the night. The Lions would not let the Indians get the match winner as Marshall fended off a total of three match points (for a match total of six) with a kill by Ella Mattas and an ace served by Harper Richardson. With the Lions down 25-24, a tip winner by McKenzie Davis pulled the Lions into a tie at 25 as the home crowd went wild. McNary Gymnasium was simply deafening at this point. The Lions won the next point to go ahead 26-25 when Ella Mattas smashed a kill from the left side to put the Lions one point away from a remarkable comeback win. Avery Cornwell served up the next point, and the ball went back and forth over the net with fantastic saves and hits on both sides of the net as the crowd held its collective breath. Lawrenceville finally set up for a kill, but the strike was long, and Marshall began the big celebration in winning the final set 27-25, taking the match two sets to one over Lawrenceville.
After the teams met to congratulate one another after the hard-fought match at center court, the Marshall student section stormed the floor, and the Lions certainly gave their seniors a night to remember. Marshall now turns their attention to the state tournament regional at St. Joseph-Ogden, where on Tuesday night they play Westville in the IHSA Class 2A semifinal round at 7:00 PM. The Lions finish the regular season with a record of 22-7.
Marshall Stats:
Kills - Lilly Ross 15, Harper Richardson 12, Ella Mattas 9
Serving - Addy Ross 10 pts/1 Ace, Ella Mattas 7 pts/ 1 Ace, Harper Richardson 4 pts/1 Ace, Lilly Ross 4 pts/ 3 Aces
Blocks- Lilly Ross 2, Addy Ross 1
Digs - Avery Cornwell 17, Addy Ross 13, Harper Richardson 11, Anna Daugherty 10, Ali Sheets 9
Assists - Addy Ross 21, Harper Richardson 16
Serve Receive - Avery Cornwell 25, Ali Sheets 9, Anna Daugherty 8
Harper Richardson flies high for the kill (Photo by T Ray Henry)