Article and photos by T Ray Henry
On Thursday, September 10th, the Marshall High School volleyball team traveled to Mount Carmel for the first Little Illini Conference match of the 2026 season. The Lions came in off a tough three-set loss at Oblong, and they were playing their 8th match in a seven-day span. How much fuel they had remaining in their collective tanks would come against a school they had never beaten inside Mount Carmel’s venerable gymnasium. In fact, the only time Marshall had beaten the Lady Aces came in 2021 when current senior Nya Engledow’s oldest sister Kai, who’s now a girls basketball coach at Marshall High, was a senior on a Lions’ volleyball team that had to wear face masks whenever they played.
Before Thursday’s trek down Illinois Route 1 to an old gym which opened in 1930, many Marshall teams in the past would make an even longer drive home after losing or getting “Mount Carmeled”, all the while replaying what happened during the game all the long way home. On this night, however, the Lions dug deep as they started out strong to build an early 10-5 lead in the opening set on a kill and tip winner by Harper Richardson, two kills by Lilly Ross, and a winner by McKenzie Davis.
A 6-1 Mount Carmel run brought the set to a tie at 11 before a seesaw battle ensued, with ties at 12 and 15. Lilly Ross (kill), McKenzie Davis (kill), and Harper Richardson (two kills) accounted for Marshall’s four points during this brief stretch. Mount Carmel went ahead 16-15 before Marshall’s Libby Huisinga scored a winner to tie it back up at 16. A combo block by Ellie Delp and Harper Richardson, followed by an ace served by Richardson and a combo block by Lilly Ross and Libby Huisinga gave Marshall a 19-16 lead. Two kills by Lilly Ross later gave the Lions a five-point lead at 22-17, and a McKenzie Davis tip winner and a Harper Richardson kill at set point gave Marshall the first set by the score of 25-20.
In the early stages of Set #2, Lilly Ross served an ace and Harper Richardson scored a kill as Mount Carmel opened up a 7-4 lead. The Lions clawed their way back with an ace served by Harper Richardson, a tip winner by Richardson, an ace served by Ellie Delp, and a kill by Lilly Ross to tie the set at 10. The teams would tie again at 11, 12, 13, and 14 before Mount Carmel scored 5 straight points to lead 19-14 as Marshall called time out.
After a side out, Marshall’s Ali Sheets stepped to the serving line with the Lions behind on the scoreboard, and the Big Red came storming back into the set by scoring 7 straight points to take a 21-19 lead. Sheets served an ace which tied the set at 19 before Mount Carmel called a time out. When the teams returned to the floor after the time out, Marshall scored two more points to lead by two (21-19). During the 7-point run, Harper Richardson scored two kills and a tip winner, and the Lions’ defense was stellar.
The Lady Aces scored a point to get within one at 21-20 before Marshall’s Harper Richardson scored on a tip winner to make the score 22-20. Lilly Ross later scored a kill to make it 24-22, then on match point, Harper Richardson hit the ball as she landed in the Marshall bench. The ball floated over the net carried by the ghosts of Marshall’s past as it landed harmlessly on the floor on Mount Carmel’s side of the net as the Lady Aces stood in disbelief. The Marshall side erupted with delight as the Lions took the second set 25-22 to win the match two sets to none and vanquishing the Wabash County nightmares and making the ride home to Clark County seem short and pleasant.
Statistical Highlights.....
Aces - Richardson 3, Delp 2, Ross 1, Sheets 1
Assists - Ross 14, Richardson 10
Kills - Richardson 14, Ross 9, Davis 2, Delp 2
Blocks - Ross 3, Davis 1, Shotts 1
Digs - Richardson 10, Sheets 7, Davis 6
In the junior varsity match, the Lions came out strong to start the first set to lead 8-3. A kill by Olivia Strohm started the scoring run, which was followed by a kill and an ace by Libby Huisinga, and a kill by Charlee Francis. Scores by Olivia Strohm and Lauren Richards gave the Lions an 11-4 lead, and that 7-point advantage held up as Marshall won the opening set by the score of 25-18. An ace served by Olivia Strohm and a kill by Libby Huisinga kept the Lions out in front through the middle of the set, then a tip winner by Aubree Shaffer, a kill by Lauren Richards, and an ace served by Lexi Mason put the Lions within a point of winning the set. After Mount Carmel scored a point to make it 24-18, Libby Huisinga smashed a kill to give Marshall the opening set by the score of 25-18.
In the second set, Mount Carmel won 25-14 but Marshall got good scoring from Libby Huisinga, Olivia Strohm, Lexi Mason (ace), and Breck Bishop led the Lions in kills in the set as well as scoring on a winning tip. With the match all tied up at one, the match went to a third and deciding set to 15 points to determine a winner.
Olivia Strohm got Marshall’s first point in the third set just as she did in the opening set . Libby Huisinga then scored a kill and Lauren Richards served up two straight aces as Marshall bolted out to a 7-0 lead that left the Lady Aces reeling and for all intents and purposes finished the Mount Carmel junior varsity’s night. Marshall stayed comfortably out in front and ran away with the final set by the score of 15-7 to win the match two sets to one.
Marshall’s varsity squad (7-3) plays five matches Saturday, September 12th when the Lions travel to Shelbyville High School to play in the Shelbyville Volleyball Tournament. Their first match is scheduled for 9:00 AM in the high school gym against Edwards County, then they play host Shelbyville at 10:00 AM, and finally they play Heritage (Broadlands) at 1:00 PM. Depending on the standings after pool play, the Lions will play two more matches at times and locations to be determined. Next Monday (9-14-26), Marshall hosts Tri-County for a non-conference match with JV action beginning at 6:00 PM inside McNary Gymnasium.
Lily Shotts (L) and Harper Richardson (R) celebrate Marshall winning the opening set at Mount Carmel (1)
Harper Richardson (3) hits a smash from the right side against Mount Carmel
Lilly Ross goes up high above the net to hit a laser for a point for Marshall against Mount Carmel
Ellie Delp (10) strikes a kill against Mount Carmel during Marshall's straight set win
Marshall's Charlee Francis (6) threads a kill over the Mount Carmel block in JV action