Ross and Richardson Each Hammer Seven Kills as Marshall Sweeps Hutsonville/Palestine 2-0

MARSHALL, Ill. — Marshall’s front line gave Hutsonville/Palestine almost nothing to work with Tuesday, and the Lions turned balanced attacking and a steady service game into a 2-0 non-conference sweep of the visiting Tigers.

Sophomore Lillian Ross and senior Harper Richardson each put down seven kills to lead the Marshall attack, and the Lions improved to 18-8 on the season. Hutsonville/Palestine fell to 10-14.

Ross was the most efficient hitter on the floor. She converted seven of her 10 swings into kills with just one error, finishing with a .600 hitting percentage and a 70.0 kill percentage — the best mark in the match by a wide margin. She also set the ball seven times, dug five balls, served two aces and shared in three blocks, a full-rotation night from the only non-senior in Marshall’s primary hitting group.

Richardson handled the heavier workload, swinging 21 times for her seven kills while hitting .190, and she also ran much of the offense with nine assists. Behind her, senior Lauren English added two kills and two aces, freshman Libby Huisinga chipped in two kills and two block assists, senior Mckenzie Davis had two kills, and senior Ellie Delp contributed a kill and two block assists.

The Lions were just as effective from the service line and in the back row. Junior Ali Sheets led the match with 12 digs while serving 11 times without being broken for a point — she finished 90.9 percent on serve with two aces and eight service points. English and Ross added two aces apiece, and Marshall’s six aces and five total blocks were the difference in a match that never got away from the hosts.

Hutsonville/Palestine’s best answer was senior Hayden Monan, who was the Tigers’ only hitter to finish above zero. Monan recorded seven kills on 15 attempts with two errors for a .333 clip, a 46.7 kill percentage, and she added six digs and an ace. Junior Kaylynn Davison carried the back row, taking 20 of the Tigers’ serve receptions and posting seven digs along with three kills and an ace.

Setting duties were split for the Tigers, with junior Rilyn Lawhead distributing six assists and senior Kailyn Shoulders adding five. Both were reliable servers — Shoulders went 9-for-9 with two aces, Lawhead 8-for-9 with two aces — but Marshall’s blocking and the Tigers’ hitting struggles elsewhere kept the pressure on. Hutsonville/Palestine’s other five hitters combined for nine kills against 11 attacking errors.

The Tigers return home looking to even their record, while Marshall continues to build on a season now 10 games over .500.

Game Summary

Score by Sets

Individual set scores were not included in the available match data.

Individual Statistics

KILLS: Marshall – L. Ross 7 (.600, 10 att), H. Richardson 7 (.190, 21 att), L. English 2, M. Davis 2, L. Huisinga 2, E. Delp 1. Hutsonville/Palestine – H. Monan 7 (.333, 15 att), K. Davison 3, R. Lawhead 2, K. Wilson 2, A. Tipton 1, K. Shoulders 1.

ASSISTS: Marshall – H. Richardson 9, L. Ross 7. Hutsonville/Palestine – R. Lawhead 6, K. Shoulders 5, K. Davison 1, H. Monan 1, A. Tipton 1.

ACES: Marshall – L. English 2 (9 SA), A. Sheets 2 (11 SA, 90.9%), L. Ross 2 (11 SA). Hutsonville/Palestine – R. Lawhead 2 (9 SA, 88.9%), K. Shoulders 2 (9 SA, 100%), K. Davison 1, H. Monan 1.

SERVICE POINTS: Marshall – A. Sheets 8, L. Ross 7, L. English 5, E. Delp 3, H. Richardson 2, L. Huisinga 1. Hutsonville/Palestine – R. Lawhead 5, K. Shoulders 5, K. Wilson 2, K. Davison 1, H. Monan 1, A. Tipton 1, A. Rich 1.

DIGS: Marshall – A. Sheets 12, L. Ross 5, E. Delp 4, H. Richardson 3, L. Huisinga 2, L. English 1, M. Davis 1. Hutsonville/Palestine – K. Davison 7, H. Monan 6, R. Lawhead 4, K. Wilson 2, A. Tipton 1, K. Shoulders 1.

BLOCKS: Marshall – L. Ross 3 (3 BA), E. Delp 2 (2 BA), L. Huisinga 2 (2 BA), L. English 1 (1 BS), H. Richardson 1 (1 BA).

SERVE RECEIVING: Hutsonville/Palestine – K. Davison 20 R, 2 RE; H. Monan 5 R; K. Wilson 5 R; A. Tipton 4 R. Marshall – L. English 10 R, A. Sheets 9 R, H. Richardson 4 R, N. Engledow 3 R.