Raiders, Bombers take care of business ahead of showdown between top Class 2A volleyball teams

October 4, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor

Senior right side hitter Ali Entrup leads the Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team's starters onto the floor prior to Tuesday night's match against Southeastern at The Pit. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Looking forward could have meant falling behind.

The Quincy Notre Dame and Macomb girls volleyball teams both faced that scenario Tuesday.

Both handled it with aplomb.

The Raiders dispatched Southeastern 25-13, 25-15 at The Pit, while the Bombers put away Havana 25-17, 25-23 at the Washington Street Gym. Now, both squads can turn their attention to Wednesday night’s epic showdown at The Pit between potential Class 2A sectional foes.

QND comes in with a 24-2 record, while Macomb sits at 18-1. Both teams have lost just four sets apiece the entire season.

“Macomb is obviously a big rival for us,” QND sophomore setter Annie Eaton said. “Seeing them (Wednesday) night will help us prepare for the postseason.”

Getting past Southeastern helps with that, too. The Suns, who were the Class 1A state runner-up last season, took Macomb to three sets six days ago and sit at 16-5.

“We definitely had to focus tonight. We definitely had to play well,” Eaton said. “They’re a good team. They’re a very well-coached team, so we knew they were going to be good at the fundamentals. So we did have to focus.”

The Raiders used their quality serve receive and passing to set up a dynamic offensive attack. Abbey Schreacke and Emma Hoing led QND with six kills apiece, while Eaton dished out 18 assists.

“Our hitters were really smart,” Eaton said. “We were really focused.”