In volleyball
Armstrong-Potomac 2, Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin 0. Eleven assists from Carly Grant, Ashlyn Ackerman had seven kills and Isabel Bullington had four kills for the host Trojans (10-10-1) in a 25-18, 25-20 Vermilion Valley Conference win over the Blue Devils (10-4). Reis McFarland had 12 kills and eight digs for the Blue Devils, while Macy Danner chipped in 12 digs.
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 2, Tri-County 0. Ten kills and 26 assists from Savannah Butcher, seven kills from Summer Melton and six kills from McKenna Blaudow helped the Knights (13-4) take down the Titans (3-10) in a 25-14, 25-10 Lincoln Prairie Conference decision.
Bloomington 2, Urbana 0. Three kills from Valentina Gonzalez, a kill from Janasia Dillon and one block apiece from Elizabeth Lange and Omega Lugano weren't enough to prevent the host Tigers (4-7) from dropping a 25-8, 25-6 Big 12 Conference decision.
Champaign Central 2, Danville 0. Summer Abudayeh had five kills and 11 digs to join Grace Bandy's six-dig effort in helping the host Maroons (14-11) past the Vikings (4-16) in a 25-19, 25-19 Big 12 decision.
Who should be this week's boys' Athlete of the Week?
It's time to vote for The News-Gazette's Athletes of the Week, powered by Copper Creek Contractors. Each Monday, The News-Gazette will publish an online poll with four boys and four girls from area schools. Your job is to pick one from each side who you believe most deserves the honor. You can vote once per device, and polls close at noon on Thursdays. Winners will be featured the following Monday.
You voted: Johnathan Iacobazzi (Sullivan cross-country) - Finished third out of 195 competitors at last Saturday's Spartan Classic with a time of 15 minutes, 14.02 seconds, the best time of any area runner. Ethan Merritt (Oakwood/Salt Fork soccer) - Became the program's all-time leading goal-scorer while setting a new single-game goals record last Monday, netting all six of Oakwood/Salt Fork's goals in a 6-1 win over St. Thomas More to put him at 71 for his career. Cooper Miller (Fisher football) - Returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown at the end of last Friday's 21-12 win at Red Hill to secure a 21-12 victory, their first win since 2021. Evan Parish (Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin football) - Rushed for 292 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries to go along with 11 tackles and an interception in the Blue Devils' 55-18 statement win over Salt Fork last Friday. Vote View Results Back
Heritage 2, Villa Grove 0. Loran Tate's nine-kill, two-block effort combined with five kills and four digs from Gracie Tate and two acres from Addi Hopper to help the Hawks (13-10-1) dispatch the Blue Devils (6-11) in a 25-12, 25-18 Lincoln Prairie Conference decision.
Hoopeston Area 2, Schlarman 0. Six aces from Abby Steiner and four kills from Addy Kelnhofer helped the Cornjerkers (5-12) dispatch the visiting Hilltoppers (1-13) in a 25-23, 25-20 VVC decision.
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 2, Ridgeview 0. Sophia Ray's six-kill performance complemented 12 assists from Londyn Roderick and five digs from Maci Lindelof to help the Falcons (10-6) beat the Mustangs (4-17) 25-14, 25-19 in Heart of Illinois Conference play.
Greenview 2, Judah Christian 0. Kisandra Fazio had nine digs, Avoni Kelly had five kills and Mackenzie Jackson had six digs as the Tribe (10-8) lost a 25-16, 25-10 East Central Illinois Conference decision.
Mahomet-Seymour 2, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 0. The Panthers (7-8) dropped a 25-16, 25-10 nonconference match to the Bulldogs (17-2) despite eight assists from Aubrey Busboom and four kills from Hallee Johnson.
The News-Gazette's volleyball Top 10: Bulldogs rise to the top
The Bulldogs are right back where they feel they belong, the No. 1 spot
Oakwood 2, Milford 0. Bella Bradford's six-kill, four-dig effort led the Comets (4-11) in a 25-23, 25-16 win over the Bearcats (4-14), with Quinn Sperry adding 11 assists, Mady Nicoson adding three blocks and Caydence Vermilion adding three kills in the VVC match.
Pontiac 2, Rantoul 0. Lauren Herbert had 12 assists, Josie Roseman had four kills and Jaeden Haverland and Airiana Bell each had three kills to help the Eagles (9-9) in a 25-2, 27-25 Illini Prairie Conference loss.
St. Thomas More 2, Prairie Central 0. Addie Kerr's 25-assist night joined eight kills from Shannon Monahan and six digs apiece from Aubrey Gooding and Alexis Hege to lead the host Sabers (22-3) past the Hawks (9-14) in a 25-10, 25-9 IPC decision.
The daily pitch from Sports Editor Matt Daniels: Oct. 2, 2024
Voting continues until noon on Thursday for our High School Athletes of the Week, powered by Copper Creek Contractors. ... Illinois women's basketball takes part in Big Ten media days on Wednesday in Rosemont. ... Illinois-Nebraska volleyball is sold out for Thursday night at Huff Hall.
Unity 2, Monticello 0. A 25-23, 25-16 went in favor of the host Rockets (17-9-1), who dispatched the Sages (11-8) thanks to nine kills and six digs from Jillian Schlittler, 15 assists and two digs from Lauren Shaw and four kills from Lindy Bates.
Watseka 2, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 1. The Warriors (18-4) went on the road and secured a 20-25-25-10, 25-20 win over the Buffaloes (8-8) thanks to 30 digs from Noelle Schroeder, 15 digs from Ella Smith and 11 kills and five blocks from Lauren Tegtmeyer.
Westville 2, Iroquois West 0. Home court advantage was kind to the Tigers (20-2) in a 25-12, 25-8 VVC win over the Raiders, with Lainey Wichtowski setting 19 assists and Madelyn Doggett adding eight kills to secure the victory.
In soccer
Fisher/Gibson City-Melvn-Sibley 7, Hoopeston Area 1. David Hull's hat trick lifted the Bunnies (13-3-1) past the Cornjerkers (5-14) in nonconference play, with Sid Pfoff, Logan Heath, Mason Doman and Daniel Santos tacking on additional goals to help the winning cause.
Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Westville 8, Schlarman 1. Simonas Ankstutis scored six goals to pace the Buffaloes (5-6) in a comfortable Vermilion Valley Conference win over the Hilltoppers (0-11-2), with Elijah Jones and Landon Heck adding scores to help the winning cause. Matt Darling added seven saves to help the Buffaloes' defensive effort.
Chargers oozing confidence after win over Maroons
CHAMPAIGN -- The Centennial boys' soccer team scheduled a brutal first two weeks of the season for a reason.
Monticello 1, St. Thomas More 1. Cannon Unero scored the lone goal for the Sages (5-10) as the drew a nonconference contest against the Sabers (5-6-2), with Dallas Glauner adding five saves to preserve the final outcome.
Oakwood/Salt Fork 2, Iroquois West 0. Ethan Merritt scored on an assist from Pedro Rangel IV and Trevor McCall added a goal of his own to help Oakwood/Salt Fork (16-2) take down the Raiders (4-13) in a Vermilion Valley Conference game. Jose Vega had three saves to pace Iroquois West.
St. Joseph-Ogden 9, Bloomington Central Catholic 0. Alex Acosta had four goals for the Spartans (15-2-1), who cruised past the Saints on their home field with the help of two goals apiece from Yadi Acosta and Zach Harper and additional an score from Logan Mills. Jaxson Colvin had a save to bolster the Spartans' defense in an Illini Prairie Conference win.
Who should be this week's girls' Athlete of the Week?
It's time to vote for The News-Gazette's Athletes of the Week, powered by Copper Creek Contractors. Each Monday, The News-Gazette will publish an online poll with four boys and four girls from area schools. Your job is to pick one from each side who you believe most deserves the honor. You can vote once per device, and polls close at noon on Thursdays. Winners will be featured the following Monday.
You voted: Emily Decker (Unity cross-country) - Finished third out of 148 runners at last Saturday's Spartan Classic with a time of 16 minutes, 55.13 seconds to lead the Rockets to the team meet victory. Emily Dossey (Uni High swimming and diving) - Helped the Illineks to a meet win among seven teams last Saturday with individual wins in the 100-yard freestyle (59.75) and 100 breaststroke (1:14.79). Christa Holohan (Watseka volleyball) - Reached 1,000 career assists with 33 in a three-set win over Prairie Central last Monday. She added a combined 41 assists in two more wins before helping the Warriors to a Watseka Invitational championship Saturday with 68 assists over four matches. Ashley Wells (St. Thomas More golf) - Won the Illini Prairie Conference individual title with an 18-hole round of 74 last Wednesday, clear of second place by three strokes, to lead the Sabers to a runner-up team finish. Vote View Results Back
Uni High 2, Bloomington 0. A pair of goals from Shabi Prasanth helped the Illineks (1-11) past the host Purple Raiders, with Matias Garmendia adding nine saves in the nonconference win.
In girls tennis
At Champaign. A 7-6, 6-2 singles win from Lauren Waldhoff was the only triumph for host St. Thomas More in an 8-1 loss to Effingham.
At Watseka. Singles wins from Sarah Parsons (6-2, 6-1), Marisa Clark (6-3, 6-1), Skyla Buwalda (6-3-, 6-1) and Regan Anderson (6-3, 6-1) helped host Watseka defeat St. Joseph-Ogden in a 7-2 decision, with Parsons and Kiara Wright (6-2, 7-5), Clark and Buwalda (7-5, 6-2) and Annika Greene and Lili Sorenson (6-0, 6-2) adding doubles wins. Ainsley Rhoton (7-6, 6-3) and Olivia Getty (7-6, 6-1, 10-4) won singles matches for the Spartans.
Arcola to honor one of its favorite sons
"Butkus was a senior," Miller said. "He wanted to hurt everybody in practice.
In girls swimming
At Danville. Centennial scored 147 points to dispatch Uni High (75) and host Danville (10), with Elizabeth Piercy winning the one meter diving competition with 156.55 points, Brynley Wilber winning the 50 yard freestyle in 26.02 and 100 freestyle in 57.67 seconds, Rebekah Kim winning the 200 freestyle in 2:09.61 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:15.30, Sofia Marquez winning the 500 freestyle in 5:48.48 and Megan Tsai winning the 100 backstroke in 1:06.62. Emily Dossey won the 100 butterfly for Uni High in 57.67.
At Urbana. Mahomet-Seymour scored 178 points to edge Normal Community (108), Olympia (64) and Urbana (57), with Bella Almaroad winning the one meter dive with 207 points, Talynn O'Donnell winning the 200 yard individual medley in 2:14.84 and 100 breastroke in 1:13.65 and Reagan O'Donnell winning the 50 freestyle in 24.19 and the 500 freestyle in 5:21.20.
Monticello golf teams having historic run: 'There's no ceiling'
The boys' and girls' Monticello golf teams are coming off historic Illini Prairie Conference titles and are looking to keep that rolling into the postseason
Sages, Bulldogs, Redskins win regionals; Wells, Ellis claim individual titles
Three area teams came away with regional titles while two individuals finished at the top of the leaderboard