Three-set loss to Maple Leafs drops Blue Devils to third place in WB6 volleyball standings

QUINCY — All of a sudden, Quincy High School finds itself looking up in the Western Big 6 volleyball standings.

Prior to Thursday night’s three-set loss to Geneseo, the Blue Devils had been in a three-way tie for the top spot in the conference standings. Now, Quincy finds itself in third place.

Geneseo’s 25-22, 24-26, 26-16 victory over QHS hiked the Maple Leafs into a first-place tie with Moline. Geneseo (17-5, 8-1 WB6) and Moline (10-10, 8-1 WB6) are both one game in front of Quincy (14-5, 7-2 WB6). 

Those three clubs are the only members of the eight-school league that have a conference record above .500, and the victory helped the Maple Leafs avenge an early-season loss to the Blue Devils.

“The first time we played Quincy was like our fifth game of the season and we just weren’t mentally ready,” Geneseo coach Casey Komel said.

Komel said the Maple Leafs’ mental approach was much better the second time around and further emphasized her team’s midseason surge is directly tied to that specific intangible — Geneseo is 11-1 over its last 12 games.

Komel also praised the work of Geneseo’s front line, especially when it came to blocking, in helping the Maple Leafs control most of the match. The Maple Leafs outscored QHS 12-2 midway through the final set to take a 22-12 advantage it never came close to relinquishing.

Anchoring Geneseo’s effort was Kailee Williams with 16 kills and 15 digs, Eliana Barickman with 11 kills, Lizie Rapps with 15 digs and Katherine Barickman with 33 assists.

“Geneseo is one of the best teams we have played this season, along with Moline and Quincy Notre Dame … but (the loss) was frustrating because of all of our unforced errors,” QHS coach Katelin Brown said. “Our (lack of) basic fundamentals really hurt us tonight.”

Brown, whose team has dropped three straight home matches, felt Quincy had Geneseo on the ropes after the Blue Devils rallied for an emotional win in the second set, outscoring the Maple Leafs 9-4 down the stretch. But she felt all the momentum QHS had built in the second set gradually eroded — and then disappeared entirely.

“Momentum changes everything,” Brown said. “We had taken control of the match, but then lost control in the third set.”

Despite the setback, several Blue Devils enjoyed impressive nights, led by libero Abby Bunch, who had 12 digs and now leads the team with 117.

“Abby was all over the place tonight,” Brown said.

Madelyn Hamby contributed 15 assists, with Madison Loss registering eight kills and four blocks. Loos now leads the Blue Devils with 78 kills.

Ayanna Douglas, Edie Campbell and Lydia Peters each notched five kills.

Quincy is back in action Friday at the Belleville East tournament, opening with matches against perennial St. Louis power Cor Jesu (12-4) at 4:30 p.m. and Mascoutah (16-3) of the Mississippi Valley Conference at 5:30 p.m.