QHS volleyball team battles in second set, falls to Chatham Glenwood in season opener

QUINCY — The finished product looked much better than the starting act.

Even though Quincy High School dropped its season-opening volleyball match Thursday evening to Chatham Glenwood 25-13, 25-23, there appears to be reason for legitimate optimism on the not-too-distant horizon.

The Blue Devils were overwhelmed and appeared overmatched in the one-sided first set, but bounced back in impressive fashion in the nightcap. Quincy led — and controlled — most of the second set, only to see Glenwood score six of the final eight points and gain the victory.

Abby Bunch, a junior libero for the Blue Devils, liked what she saw from her teammates as the evening progressed. Bunch, one of 16 underclassmen on an 18-player varsity roster, felt the opener was part of what will be an early season growing process.

“We had a lot of ups and downs,” Bunch said. “We’re still getting to know each other. We’re working on building that bond we need.”

Blue Devils coach Kate Brown admitted much the same.

“In that first game, I think we had a lot of jitters,” Brown said. “In the second game, we played much better. We were much more aggressive.”

The overall performances of opposite hitter Lydia Peters and outside hitter Kaley Summers, both juniors, triggered the second-game improvement, according to Brown.

Quincy broke to a 5-0 advantage and led by five points on five different occasions before Glenwood rallied at the end to raise its record to 2-1. The Titans had defeated Collinsville and lost to Normal U-High prior to meeting Quincy.

Quincy junior outside hitter Ayanna Douglas recorded five digs and sophomore middle hitter Madison Loos was credited with two blocks. Summers (.455), Peters (,416) and Loos (.400) had the top hitting percentages.

Brown is hoping to maintain the momentum established last season. Now in Brown’s third full year at the helm of the program, Quincy is coming off an 18-18 finish that followed an 8-26 showing in 2021-22. The Blue Devils’ one-time powerhouse program also will be looking to end a postseason drought that has not seen Quincy win at least a regional title since 2010.

“That first match is out of the way and we know what we need to work on — mainly our defensive passing and aggression,” Brown said.

There will not be much time to refine those shortcomings since the Blue Devils return to action Saturday, hosting their annual Early Bird Tournament. The eight-team, day-long event starts at 9 a.m. and features Pekin, Winchester, East St. Louis, Quincy Notre Dame and Galesburg, plus junior varsity teams from QHS and Pekin. Each school plays three games in pool play prior to the playoffs.