The Chester High School Lady Jackets competed in the IHSA Class 2A Regional volleyball tournament Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 25 and 26. The event was hosted by Carterville and fed into the Johnston City Sectional.
Quarterfinals
No. 8 Chester faced No. 7 Murphysboro in the Regional quarterfinals Monday, Oct. 25. The Jackets started out the match in great form, defeating the Lady Red Devils, 25-22 in the first set.
Murphy bounced back in the second set and beat the Jackets by eight points, 17-25, to force a third, tiebreaking set.
In the tiebreaker, Chester outlasted the Lady Devils, winning by six points, 25-19, to advance to the Regional semifinals to face No. 2 Pinckneyville.
"Our defense and block coverage were on fire!" said Coach Collen Runge. "I'm proud of the way the girls connected on the court."
In the win, Kailyn Absher led the team in kills with eight, as well as three blocks. Mabry Wingerter led the team in aces with five and led in assists with 17. Ellen McCormick paced the team in digs with 13.
Semifinals
In the semifinals, the No. 2 Pinckneyville Lady Panthers hosted the No. 8 Chester Lady YellowJackets.
Chester fought hard in both sets, but fell to Pinckneyville in two sets, 12-25 and 18-25. In the loss, junior Paige Vasquez led with 11 digs, one ace, and shared the lead for kills with senior Absher with four kills apiece. Absher also contributed two solo blocks.
Sophomore Wingerter led the team in assists with 12 against a very good Lady Panther squad.
"I am so proud of how well the girls performed against this very talented Pinckneyville team," Runge said.
"They fought every point and never gave up. Although we lost, it was a good ending to our season."
With the loss, Chester's 2021 season was brought to an end. Chester's final overall record was 16-13.
