Bombers finish second, Pirates beat Blue Devils in cross-river rematch at QHS Invitational

QUINCY — After more than 10 hours of volleyball, it’s only fitting that the final match of Saturday’s Quincy High School Invitational provided another three-set thriller.

Macomb outlasted Freeburg 25-13, 21-25, 15-9 to earn second place in the tournament.

The Bombers fell behind 5-3 in the third set after a long, grueling rally that lasted about a minute. Macomb coach Briana Rexroat called timeout to give her team a quick rest.

Following the timeout, the Bombers flipped the switch. They scored six of the next seven and 10 of the next 12 points on the way to victory.

“I was worried that third set,” Rexroat said. “They had all the momentum, they were moving fast. That long rally they won, I didn’t know if we would rebound, but the girls did a great job of rebounding.”

The Bombers found some reserve fuel in the tank during their fifth match of the day.

“That’s what you want to see right now because after a long day like that, it’s easy to give in,” Rexroat said. “I’m just proud of their resilience.”

The Bombers had to turn right around and play Freeburg immediately after going the distance with Limestone, a team Macomb defeated 25-23, 25-16 on Aug. 31. The Rockets held off Macomb 25-19, 24-26, 25-22 this time around. Macomb led 18-15, 20-18 and 22-21 in the deciding set, but Limestone scored the final four points to seal a 5-0 day and the tournament title.

Despite this loss, the Bombers accomplished what they set out to do when they began play at 10 am. They went 3-0 in pool B with wins over Camp Point Central, Hartsburg-Emden and Hannibal JV, earning them a spot in the gold — or championship — pool with Freeburg and Limestone, which won pool A and pool C, respectively.

“Our goal was to get in the gold (pool) so we could see the top teams,” Rexroat said. “We battled with Limestone earlier in the season, so to go three with them and push it to that last set was good to see.”

In a battle of teams that went 2-1 and finished second in their pools, Quincy and Hannibal renewed their cross-river rivalry in the silver pool. Hannibal got the better of the Blue Devils 25-17, 26-24 for its second win over Quincy this season.

“That was another big win for us,” Pirates coach Kelsey Pollard said. “That was the highlight of the day that we got to beat Quincy. They’re always a great team. A fast-paced ballgame and we end up taking it, it’s great.”

The Pirates led 24-20 in the second set, but the Blue Devils rallied to tie it at 24. Pirates junior setter Malia Stolte lofted a kill over the Blue Devils’ block to get Hannibal to match point. Senior outside hitter Abbie Martin aced the Blue Devils to wrap it up, notching her fourth ace of the set in the process. Martin had three aces in a four-point span to give Hannibal a 13-12 lead.

“(Martin’s) serves were really on that game, which made a big difference,” Pollard said. “I always say serves can make or break the set, whether you get them in or not is a two-point swing. I love it when the girls have good, strong serves and make things easier for us.”

Both Hannibal and Quincy dropped their final matches of the day. In the game following their win over the Blue Devils, the Pirates lost 25-19, 25-20 to Hartsburg-Emden. Following that match, the Stags defeated the Blue Devils 25-15, 25-20.

Camp Point Central went 1-2 in pool B to advance to the bronze pool in which the Panthers defeated Brown County 25-15, 25-16 and Jacksonville 24-26, 25-10, 25-20.

Brown County went 1-2 in pool A with a 25-22, 25-20 victory over Springfield. The Hornets went 1-1 in the bronze pool with a win over Jacksonville and the loss to Central.