Richardson and Ross Carry Marshall Past South Knox 2-1 in Neutral-Site Tournament Match

Marshall’s front row found another gear when it mattered, and that was the difference in a 2-1 tournament win over South Knox on Sept. 5 at a neutral site.

Harper Richardson and Lillian Ross combined for 23 of the Lions’ 27 kills, and Marshall’s .175 hitting percentage proved too much for a South Knox side that won nearly every other statistical battle on the floor. The Lions improved to 18-8 on the season. The Spartans fell to 14-12.

South Knox pushed the match to a deciding third set and had every reason to believe it could steal it. The Spartans served better, landing 13 aces to Marshall’s eight, and they dug 61 balls to the Lions’ 49. What they could not do was finish. South Knox put down 24 kills but gave back 20 attack errors across 102 swings, finishing at .039 for the match. Marshall swung 22 fewer times and still out-killed the Spartans.

Richardson was the steadiest player in the gym. The senior hammered 13 kills on 30 attempts with five errors for a .267 clip, led all players with 14 digs and added 11 assists out of Marshall’s two-setter look. Ross was nearly as complete, converting 10 kills on 20 swings at .250, blocking four balls — one solo, three assisted — and distributing 11 assists of her own. The sophomore also led the Lions at the service line with three aces and 11 service points on 16 attempts.

Lauren English gave Marshall efficient support with three kills on seven swings and 10 digs while handling a team-high 15 serve receptions. Freshman Libby Huisinga chipped in two aces and a solo block, and senior Mckenzie Davis added two aces, 16 receptions and a block.

For South Knox, junior Janet West was the primary weapon. West put down nine kills on 24 attempts for a .208 mark, the best efficiency among Spartan hitters with significant volume, and added a solo block. Sophomore Brooklyn Flaningam filled the box score across the board with six kills, three aces, nine digs, eight assists and two total blocks, though she was charged with six attack errors on 22 swings. Fellow sophomore Addyson Marchino added five kills and three aces.

The back row kept South Knox alive. Junior libero Braelyn Gladish turned in 20 digs and handled 25 serve receptions with three errors, while Maddie Short added 13 digs and 12 receptions. Makayla Carie ran the offense for 13 assists and was perfect at the line, going 15-for-15 in serves with an ace and a team-high 10 service points. Senior Tylee Wall contributed two solo blocks.

Marshall’s blocking edge, modest as it was at six total stops to South Knox’s six, came with better timing: Ross’s four blocks repeatedly closed off the Spartans’ left side in the later stages of the match. Combined with Marshall’s lower error count — 13 attack errors to South Knox’s 20 — it was enough to hold off a Spartans group that never stopped digging.

Game Summary

Match Result

Individual set scores were not available in the submitted data. Three sets were played.

Team Totals

Individual Statistics

KILLS: Marshall – Harper Richardson (Sr) 13, Lillian Ross (So) 10, Lauren English (Sr) 3, Mckenzie Davis (Sr) 1. South Knox – Janet West (Jr) 9, Brooklyn Flaningam (So) 6, Addyson Marchino (So) 5, Natalie West (So) 2, Maddie Short (Jr) 1, Tylee Wall (Sr) 1.

HITTING PCT. (min. 7 att.): Marshall – English .429 (3-0-7), Richardson .267 (13-5-30), Ross .250 (10-5-20), Davis -.125 (1-3-16). South Knox – J. West .208 (9-4-24), Wall .125 (1-0-8), Marchino .050 (5-4-20), Flaningam .000 (6-6-22), N. West .000 (2-2-10), Short -.273 (1-4-11).

ASSISTS: Marshall – Richardson 11, Ross 11, Ali Sheets (Jr) 1, Davis 1. South Knox – Makayla Carie (Jr) 13, Flaningam 8, Braelyn Gladish (Jr) 1.

SERVING (Aces-Attempts): Marshall – Ross 3-16, Davis 2-11, Libby Huisinga (Fr) 2-7, English 1-8, Richardson 0-11, Sheets 0-10. South Knox – Flaningam 3-13, Marchino 3-8, Short 2-9, Shelbi Carie (So) 2-6, M. Carie 1-15, Gladish 1-6, Wall 1-7.

DIGS: Marshall – Richardson 14, Sheets 11, English 10, Ross 8, Davis 5, Huisinga 1. South Knox – Gladish 20, Short 13, Flaningam 9, M. Carie 8, S. Carie 4, Wall 3, Marchino 2, N. West 2.

BLOCKS (Solo-Assist-Total): Marshall – Ross 1-3-4, Davis 1-0-1, Huisinga 1-0-1. South Knox – Wall 2-0-2, Flaningam 1-1-2, J. West 1-0-1, Marchino 0-1-1.

SERVE RECEIVE (Receptions-Errors): Marshall – Davis 16-4, English 15-2, Richardson 6-0, Sheets 5-3, Ross 2-2. South Knox – Gladish 25-3, Short 12-1, N. West 6-1, Flaningam 5-0, S. Carie 5-2, Wall 1-0.