Rejuvenated Hannibal volleyball squad whips past Illini West to kickstart another busy week

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Saturday was exhausting. Monday was relieving.

After the Hannibal volleyball team played five matches in a nine-hour span at Saturday’s Quincy High School Invitational, a three-set victory in a match that took a little more than an hour was just what the doctor ordered 48 hours later. The Pirates made quick work of Illini West 25-17, 25-18, 25-16 on Monday at Korf Gymnasium.

“We needed a quick win,” Pirates coach Kelsey Pollard said.

The Pirates used a 5-0 run, the final of which was an ace by junior Malia Stolte, to take a 23-16 lead in the first set. Senior Zanie Terrill sealed the set with the Pirates’ sixth ace.

“They were dropping right in front of the girls,” Chargers coach Sawyer Johnson said. “Those serves are so hard to get to. It was tough.”

Hannibal aced Illini West seven more times in the final two sets, giving them 13 aces on just three serving errors.

“Everybody was on,” Stolte said of the Pirates’ serving. “We practice it a lot. We practice serving to places, and we found some spots on the court and hit them.”

The Pirates led wire to wire in the second set, during which senior outside hitter Abbie Martin notched her 1,000th career dig.

“I really think it’s a motivational thing for me,” Martin said of the milestone. “It’s really special because our defensive work in practice goes into that. It really was a goal of mine.”

Stolte, who plays soccer and basketball with Martin, couldn’t help but smile when she was asked about Martin’s accomplishment.

“It’s awesome,” Stolte said. “I love playing sports with Abbie. She’s awesome. I’m just so proud of her.”

Hannibal kept the gas pedal pushed to the floor in the third set. The Pirates sailed away to a 13-3 lead thanks to a 10-0 run that featured three Stolte kills.

“Malia had a really good swinging night,” Pollard said. “She makes adjustments really well. If she sees a line, she uses it. If she sees the cross open, she uses it. That’s awesome to have on the right side.”

Freshman Lyla Dorsey ended the match with an overpass kill, wrapping up a Pirates sweep in 1 hour, 5 minutes.

“Saturday was exhausting, but we took our rest on Sunday, and we came out with a lot of energy,” Stolte said. “I’m really proud of us tonight.”

Having North Central Missouri Conference matches Tuesday at Marshall and Thursday at home against Fulton doesn’t help the Pirates get much more rest, either, making Monday’s quick result that much more beneficial.

“We needed to get it done quickly,” Pollard said.

Following the Fulton match, the Pirates will host Mexico in the final regular-season match before the Class 4 District 4 tournament begins Oct. 22 at Parkway Central. The Pirates earned the No. 1 seed in the district and will play the winner of No. 8 McCluer and No. 9 McCluer North on Oct. 23. In 2023, the Pirates made a run to the district title game as a No. 4 seed but lost in straight sets to Lutheran St. Charles.

“I’m mentally ready just because I want to rebound from losing that district championship last year,” Pirates senior middle hitter Emilia Bates said.

Bates alluded to the challenge the Pirates (21-7) had against Quincy Notre Dame, which the Pirates lost in five sets, as well as their participation in the Troy Tournament and QHS Invitational — those two tournaments accounted for five of the Pirates’ losses so far — as preparatory tools for what awaits them in the playoffs.

“Our confidence is high for the postseason,” Bates said. “I think we had a harder schedule this year, which has benefited us in the long run.”

As for the Chargers (24-7), they have two home matches — against Rushville-Industry on Oct. 15 and Southeastern on Oct. 22 — and two road matches — at West Prairie on Oct. 17 and Unity on Oct. 24 — to wrap up the regular season. The Chargers are the No. 4 seed in the Riverton Sectional and will play the winner of No. 5 Knoxville and No. 10 West Hancock on Oct. 29 as part of the Warsaw Regional. Should the Chargers win that match, they could face No. 1 seed QND in the regional final.

Johnson said her team’s biggest hurdle to get over won’t necessarily be the talent the Chargers have on the court, but what is happening between the players’ ears.

“It’s really going to be working on that mental game the next couple weeks,” Johnson said. “You’re only as strong as your weakest player, so if somebody is not getting over that mental hurdle, it’s going to really hurt us.”