BOYS' VOLLEYBALL: Metro holds off Alton

Knights get 3rd win over Redbirds

By SCOTT MARION, smarion@edwpub.net

Published 6:15 pm, Monday, April 23, 2018

Metro-East Lutheran’s Logan McDaniel, left, goes up for a kill during Monday’s match at Alton.

ALTON — With its full lineup back on the court for the first time in two weeks, the Metro-East Lutheran boys’ volleyball team beat Alton for the third time this season.

Led by seven kills each from Christian Brown and Caleb Cope, MELHS beat the Redbirds 25-21, 25-22 on Monday night.

The Knights improved to 8-11-1 while the host Redbirds dropped to 0-14.

Metro was coming off a fourth-place finish on Saturday in the Cougar Invitational at Lutheran St. Charles.

They played all four matches in that tournament, as well as a loss to Cape Girardeau Notre Dame on April 13, without four starters.

Those players — middle hitters Will Barney and Calvin Cunningham, defensive specialist Sam Stewart and second setter Cameron Gusewelle — were all part of Metro’s annual interim trips, which this year had students travel to Europe and to California.

All four players were in the lineup on Monday.

“It took us a little while to get back in rhythm and get used to our normal middles and having another person in the back row,” MELHS coach Jason Batty said. “I was worried about our junior setter (Josh Jacobsen) wearing himself down, so I’m glad we have Cameron back.”

Alton, meanwhile, played two of its first three matches against Metro, losing 25-11, 25-6 at Metro on March 22 and losing 25-11, 25-22 at the Belleville East Invitational on March 23.

Monday’s match was by far the closest of the three, and while the Redbirds are still looking for their first win, coach Stacey Ferguson feels they are heading in the right direction.

“I’m definitely proud of the way the boys played today. They played with a lot more purpose and control than we’ve been playing,” Ferguson said. “Those little improvements that we’ve been making throughout the season are finally starting to come together.

“We obviously still have some strides to make, but I’m pleased with how we did overall.”

Alton came out strong in game one, taking a 7-4 lead.

Once the Knights got the lead, they maintained it, going up 23-18 on a kill by Logan McDaniel.

MELHS moved to game point at 24-19, but Alton scored the next two points to stay alive. The Knights closed out the game on a kill by Brown.

“It had been a couple weeks since we had the full team, so this is a nice win,” Knights junior libero Brent Woolsey said. “In the first set, we were kind of running into each other, but by the end of the match, we had it figured out.”

Alton also had the lead in game two, going up 10-8 on an error by Metro.

The Knights, though, answered with a 9-2 run, taking a 17-12 lead on a kill by Cope.

Alton stayed close, pulling with 23-22 on a kill by Charles Tuggle. But a kill by Cope and a hitting error by Redbirds clinched the win for MELHS.

“It took a little while for us to get on the same page since most of our best hitters hadn’t touched a volleyball for nine days,” Brown said.

Woolsey led the Knights with 18 digs while Gusewelle had 11 assists.

For Alton, Charles Webb had a team-high four kills while Jamal Jones had three kills. Tyler Hance led the Redbirds with seven service points while Webb had six points.

Lance Perkey and Lukas Ragain had 12 and 10 digs, respectively, for Alton. Hance had a team-high 12 assists.

Metro returns to action at 5:45 p.m. at Granite City. The Knights will host Duchesne, which won the Cougar Invitational, at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Alton travels to Belleville West for a Southwestern Conference match at 5:45 p.m. today.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL: Metro holds off Alton

Knights get 3rd win over Redbirds

By SCOTT MARION, smarion@edwpub.net

Published 6:15 pm, Monday, April 23, 2018

Metro-East Lutheran’s Logan McDaniel, left, goes up for a kill during Monday’s match at Alton.

ALTON — With its full lineup back on the court for the first time in two weeks, the Metro-East Lutheran boys’ volleyball team beat Alton for the third time this season.

Led by seven kills each from Christian Brown and Caleb Cope, MELHS beat the Redbirds 25-21, 25-22 on Monday night.

The Knights improved to 8-11-1 while the host Redbirds dropped to 0-14.

Metro was coming off a fourth-place finish on Saturday in the Cougar Invitational at Lutheran St. Charles.

They played all four matches in that tournament, as well as a loss to Cape Girardeau Notre Dame on April 13, without four starters.

Those players — middle hitters Will Barney and Calvin Cunningham, defensive specialist Sam Stewart and second setter Cameron Gusewelle — were all part of Metro’s annual interim trips, which this year had students travel to Europe and to California.

All four players were in the lineup on Monday.

“It took us a little while to get back in rhythm and get used to our normal middles and having another person in the back row,” MELHS coach Jason Batty said. “I was worried about our junior setter (Josh Jacobsen) wearing himself down, so I’m glad we have Cameron back.”

Alton, meanwhile, played two of its first three matches against Metro, losing 25-11, 25-6 at Metro on March 22 and losing 25-11, 25-22 at the Belleville East Invitational on March 23.

Monday’s match was by far the closest of the three, and while the Redbirds are still looking for their first win, coach Stacey Ferguson feels they are heading in the right direction.

“I’m definitely proud of the way the boys played today. They played with a lot more purpose and control than we’ve been playing,” Ferguson said. “Those little improvements that we’ve been making throughout the season are finally starting to come together.

“We obviously still have some strides to make, but I’m pleased with how we did overall.”

Alton came out strong in game one, taking a 7-4 lead.

Once the Knights got the lead, they maintained it, going up 23-18 on a kill by Logan McDaniel.

MELHS moved to game point at 24-19, but Alton scored the next two points to stay alive. The Knights closed out the game on a kill by Brown.

“It had been a couple weeks since we had the full team, so this is a nice win,” Knights junior libero Brent Woolsey said. “In the first set, we were kind of running into each other, but by the end of the match, we had it figured out.”

Alton also had the lead in game two, going up 10-8 on an error by Metro.

The Knights, though, answered with a 9-2 run, taking a 17-12 lead on a kill by Cope.

Alton stayed close, pulling with 23-22 on a kill by Charles Tuggle. But a kill by Cope and a hitting error by Redbirds clinched the win for MELHS.

“It took a little while for us to get on the same page since most of our best hitters hadn’t touched a volleyball for nine days,” Brown said.

Woolsey led the Knights with 18 digs while Gusewelle had 11 assists.

For Alton, Charles Webb had a team-high four kills while Jamal Jones had three kills. Tyler Hance led the Redbirds with seven service points while Webb had six points.

Lance Perkey and Lukas Ragain had 12 and 10 digs, respectively, for Alton. Hance had a team-high 12 assists.

Metro returns to action at 5:45 p.m. at Granite City. The Knights will host Duchesne, which won the Cougar Invitational, at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Alton travels to Belleville West for a Southwestern Conference match at 5:45 p.m. today.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL: Metro holds off Alton

Knights get 3rd win over Redbirds

By SCOTT MARION, smarion@edwpub.net

Published 6:15 pm, Monday, April 23, 2018

Metro-East Lutheran’s Logan McDaniel, left, goes up for a kill during Monday’s match at Alton.

ALTON — With its full lineup back on the court for the first time in two weeks, the Metro-East Lutheran boys’ volleyball team beat Alton for the third time this season.

Led by seven kills each from Christian Brown and Caleb Cope, MELHS beat the Redbirds 25-21, 25-22 on Monday night.

The Knights improved to 8-11-1 while the host Redbirds dropped to 0-14.

Metro was coming off a fourth-place finish on Saturday in the Cougar Invitational at Lutheran St. Charles.

They played all four matches in that tournament, as well as a loss to Cape Girardeau Notre Dame on April 13, without four starters.

Those players — middle hitters Will Barney and Calvin Cunningham, defensive specialist Sam Stewart and second setter Cameron Gusewelle — were all part of Metro’s annual interim trips, which this year had students travel to Europe and to California.

All four players were in the lineup on Monday.

“It took us a little while to get back in rhythm and get used to our normal middles and having another person in the back row,” MELHS coach Jason Batty said. “I was worried about our junior setter (Josh Jacobsen) wearing himself down, so I’m glad we have Cameron back.”

Alton, meanwhile, played two of its first three matches against Metro, losing 25-11, 25-6 at Metro on March 22 and losing 25-11, 25-22 at the Belleville East Invitational on March 23.

Monday’s match was by far the closest of the three, and while the Redbirds are still looking for their first win, coach Stacey Ferguson feels they are heading in the right direction.

“I’m definitely proud of the way the boys played today. They played with a lot more purpose and control than we’ve been playing,” Ferguson said. “Those little improvements that we’ve been making throughout the season are finally starting to come together.

“We obviously still have some strides to make, but I’m pleased with how we did overall.”

Alton came out strong in game one, taking a 7-4 lead.

Once the Knights got the lead, they maintained it, going up 23-18 on a kill by Logan McDaniel.

MELHS moved to game point at 24-19, but Alton scored the next two points to stay alive. The Knights closed out the game on a kill by Brown.

“It had been a couple weeks since we had the full team, so this is a nice win,” Knights junior libero Brent Woolsey said. “In the first set, we were kind of running into each other, but by the end of the match, we had it figured out.”

Alton also had the lead in game two, going up 10-8 on an error by Metro.

The Knights, though, answered with a 9-2 run, taking a 17-12 lead on a kill by Cope.

Alton stayed close, pulling with 23-22 on a kill by Charles Tuggle. But a kill by Cope and a hitting error by Redbirds clinched the win for MELHS.

“It took a little while for us to get on the same page since most of our best hitters hadn’t touched a volleyball for nine days,” Brown said.

Woolsey led the Knights with 18 digs while Gusewelle had 11 assists.

For Alton, Charles Webb had a team-high four kills while Jamal Jones had three kills. Tyler Hance led the Redbirds with seven service points while Webb had six points.

Lance Perkey and Lukas Ragain had 12 and 10 digs, respectively, for Alton. Hance had a team-high 12 assists.

Metro returns to action at 5:45 p.m. at Granite City. The Knights will host Duchesne, which won the Cougar Invitational, at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Alton travels to Belleville West for a Southwestern Conference match at 5:45 p.m. today.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL: Metro holds off Alton

Knights get 3rd win over Redbirds

By SCOTT MARION, smarion@edwpub.net

Published 6:15 pm, Monday, April 23, 2018

Metro-East Lutheran’s Logan McDaniel, left, goes up for a kill during Monday’s match at Alton.

ALTON — With its full lineup back on the court for the first time in two weeks, the Metro-East Lutheran boys’ volleyball team beat Alton for the third time this season.

Led by seven kills each from Christian Brown and Caleb Cope, MELHS beat the Redbirds 25-21, 25-22 on Monday night.

The Knights improved to 8-11-1 while the host Redbirds dropped to 0-14.

Metro was coming off a fourth-place finish on Saturday in the Cougar Invitational at Lutheran St. Charles.

They played all four matches in that tournament, as well as a loss to Cape Girardeau Notre Dame on April 13, without four starters.

Those players — middle hitters Will Barney and Calvin Cunningham, defensive specialist Sam Stewart and second setter Cameron Gusewelle — were all part of Metro’s annual interim trips, which this year had students travel to Europe and to California.

All four players were in the lineup on Monday.

“It took us a little while to get back in rhythm and get used to our normal middles and having another person in the back row,” MELHS coach Jason Batty said. “I was worried about our junior setter (Josh Jacobsen) wearing himself down, so I’m glad we have Cameron back.”

Alton, meanwhile, played two of its first three matches against Metro, losing 25-11, 25-6 at Metro on March 22 and losing 25-11, 25-22 at the Belleville East Invitational on March 23.

Monday’s match was by far the closest of the three, and while the Redbirds are still looking for their first win, coach Stacey Ferguson feels they are heading in the right direction.

“I’m definitely proud of the way the boys played today. They played with a lot more purpose and control than we’ve been playing,” Ferguson said. “Those little improvements that we’ve been making throughout the season are finally starting to come together.

“We obviously still have some strides to make, but I’m pleased with how we did overall.”

Alton came out strong in game one, taking a 7-4 lead.

Once the Knights got the lead, they maintained it, going up 23-18 on a kill by Logan McDaniel.

MELHS moved to game point at 24-19, but Alton scored the next two points to stay alive. The Knights closed out the game on a kill by Brown.

“It had been a couple weeks since we had the full team, so this is a nice win,” Knights junior libero Brent Woolsey said. “In the first set, we were kind of running into each other, but by the end of the match, we had it figured out.”

Alton also had the lead in game two, going up 10-8 on an error by Metro.

The Knights, though, answered with a 9-2 run, taking a 17-12 lead on a kill by Cope.

Alton stayed close, pulling with 23-22 on a kill by Charles Tuggle. But a kill by Cope and a hitting error by Redbirds clinched the win for MELHS.

“It took a little while for us to get on the same page since most of our best hitters hadn’t touched a volleyball for nine days,” Brown said.

Woolsey led the Knights with 18 digs while Gusewelle had 11 assists.

For Alton, Charles Webb had a team-high four kills while Jamal Jones had three kills. Tyler Hance led the Redbirds with seven service points while Webb had six points.

Lance Perkey and Lukas Ragain had 12 and 10 digs, respectively, for Alton. Hance had a team-high 12 assists.

Metro returns to action at 5:45 p.m. at Granite City. The Knights will host Duchesne, which won the Cougar Invitational, at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Alton travels to Belleville West for a Southwestern Conference match at 5:45 p.m. today.

BOYS' VOLLEYBALL: Metro holds off Alton

Knights get 3rd win over Redbirds

By SCOTT MARION, smarion@edwpub.net

Published 6:15 pm, Monday, April 23, 2018

Metro-East Lutheran’s Logan McDaniel, left, goes up for a kill during Monday’s match at Alton.

ALTON — With its full lineup back on the court for the first time in two weeks, the Metro-East Lutheran boys’ volleyball team beat Alton for the third time this season.

Led by seven kills each from Christian Brown and Caleb Cope, MELHS beat the Redbirds 25-21, 25-22 on Monday night.

The Knights improved to 8-11-1 while the host Redbirds dropped to 0-14.

Metro was coming off a fourth-place finish on Saturday in the Cougar Invitational at Lutheran St. Charles.

They played all four matches in that tournament, as well as a loss to Cape Girardeau Notre Dame on April 13, without four starters.

Those players — middle hitters Will Barney and Calvin Cunningham, defensive specialist Sam Stewart and second setter Cameron Gusewelle — were all part of Metro’s annual interim trips, which this year had students travel to Europe and to California.

All four players were in the lineup on Monday.

“It took us a little while to get back in rhythm and get used to our normal middles and having another person in the back row,” MELHS coach Jason Batty said. “I was worried about our junior setter (Josh Jacobsen) wearing himself down, so I’m glad we have Cameron back.”

Alton, meanwhile, played two of its first three matches against Metro, losing 25-11, 25-6 at Metro on March 22 and losing 25-11, 25-22 at the Belleville East Invitational on March 23.

Monday’s match was by far the closest of the three, and while the Redbirds are still looking for their first win, coach Stacey Ferguson feels they are heading in the right direction.

“I’m definitely proud of the way the boys played today. They played with a lot more purpose and control than we’ve been playing,” Ferguson said. “Those little improvements that we’ve been making throughout the season are finally starting to come together.

“We obviously still have some strides to make, but I’m pleased with how we did overall.”

Alton came out strong in game one, taking a 7-4 lead.

Once the Knights got the lead, they maintained it, going up 23-18 on a kill by Logan McDaniel.

MELHS moved to game point at 24-19, but Alton scored the next two points to stay alive. The Knights closed out the game on a kill by Brown.

“It had been a couple weeks since we had the full team, so this is a nice win,” Knights junior libero Brent Woolsey said. “In the first set, we were kind of running into each other, but by the end of the match, we had it figured out.”

Alton also had the lead in game two, going up 10-8 on an error by Metro.

The Knights, though, answered with a 9-2 run, taking a 17-12 lead on a kill by Cope.

Alton stayed close, pulling with 23-22 on a kill by Charles Tuggle. But a kill by Cope and a hitting error by Redbirds clinched the win for MELHS.

“It took a little while for us to get on the same page since most of our best hitters hadn’t touched a volleyball for nine days,” Brown said.

Woolsey led the Knights with 18 digs while Gusewelle had 11 assists.

For Alton, Charles Webb had a team-high four kills while Jamal Jones had three kills. Tyler Hance led the Redbirds with seven service points while Webb had six points.

Lance Perkey and Lukas Ragain had 12 and 10 digs, respectively, for Alton. Hance had a team-high 12 assists.

Metro returns to action at 5:45 p.m. at Granite City. The Knights will host Duchesne, which won the Cougar Invitational, at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Alton travels to Belleville West for a Southwestern Conference match at 5:45 p.m. today.