St. Edward’s volleyball team kicked off its 2024 season and made history by playing their first match on the newly renamed Ed Norris ’41 & Joe Beck ’58 Court, commemorating the beginning of the program’s 50th season.
The university unveiled the new name of the Recreation and Athletic Center court on Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Topper Pride Kick-Off event. The volleyball team was the first to play a game on the newly christened court during the Hilltopper Classic, a two day tournament with other games from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Newman University, Purdue Northwest and Illinois-Springfield.
In the first set, the Hilltoppers managed to overcome a slow start against University of Arkansas at Monticello, with middle blocker Addy Badley and outside hitter Mia Clay landing powerful kills. The score was tight early on, but back to back kills from right-side hitter Kat Neille pushed St. Edward’s to a 19-15 lead.
Arkansas-Monticello struck back, after a Hilltopper serve error tied the set 24-24. With the crowd on the edge of their seat, a distinctive kill by Badley, followed by a set error from Arkansas-Monticello, led the Hilltoppers to finish out the set 27-25, game on. The team made a comeback from seven ties and overcame one lead change to win the opening set.
“Serve and pass wins games. Our passing started out a little shaky but once we got in a rhythm it just became muscle memory for us,” outside hitter Kelli Fording said. “Our setter, Althea (Morris), is a freshman this year and gave us a good opportunity to get a lot of one on ones, and she gave me the right ball to get a kill on.”
The Hilltoppers began the second set with confidence after the first win under their belt. Libero Jazzy Williams served four aces, pushing the score to 8-2 with St. Edward’s leading the stretch. With defensive plays from Williams and a series of blocks by Badley, the Hilltoppers took the lead.
Despite a comeback attempt from their opponents, Jordan Chapman and Cora Young made pivotal plays, with Chapman recording a perfect kill percentage in the two sets she played, and Young adding two kills of her own. Arkansas-Monticello fell behind and the set ended with a whopping 25-11 win for the Hilltoppers.
“Serve receiving or passing is like a relationship, it’s all about communicating and knowing where someone is next to you, and in reps it’s not the same as a live game, and I think it got better as the match went on,” head coach Jared Te’o said.
The third set was a closer call, with both teams trading points early on. A kill from Fording and a block from Young kept the Hilltoppers hopeful at 15-15.
Arkansas-Monticello took a 17-16 lead with a series of kills, but the Hilltoppers pulled through with a five-point run of their own, including kills by Clay and a crucial ace from Morris. Despite a late surge from Arkansas-Monticello to bring the score to 23-20, a kill by Neille and another ace from Williams secured the match for St. Edward’s with a 25-20 set victory. St. Edward’s dominated the net, out scoring Arkansas-Monticello 48 kills to 25.
The team, consisting of 13/16 freshmen and sophomores, spiked its way to victory in the first game of the season. The Hilltoppers’ strong teamwork and aggressive attacking strategies ultimately led them their first win to start their 2024 season.
