A-J volleyball team wins title

The Anna-Jonesboro High School volleyball team won the Southern Illinois River-to-River Mississippi Division Conference outright over host Sparta 25-22 and 25-20 Thursday, Oct. 20.

“The girls set goals at the beginning of the season and they accomplished their goals,” A-J volleyball coach Amy Fitzgerald-Wilson said. “They play to win and they play like winners.” There were several games this season where the Lady Wildcats were down and came back.

“I’m so proud of this group and the conference championship,” Fitzgerald-Wilson added.

The Lady Wildcats improved to 29-2 overall and  finished 10-0 in the conference. The last volleyball conference championship for A-J was 1996.

Emma Basler led the way for the Lady Wildcats with an ace, 6 good serves, 11 serve receives and 13 digs.

Chandra Parr had an ace, 5 good serves and 8 kills. Karley Heath had 2 aces, 3 good serves and 20 assists.

Katie McIntyre had 14 serve receives and 9 digs. Rebecca Mitchell had 5 solo and 3 assist blocks. Amanda Conaway and Katie Edwards had 2 solo and 5 assist blocks each.

 The top-seeded Lady Wildcats were to have played earlier this week in the Class 2A Vienna Regional.

At the Vienna Regional, Murphysboro defeated Harrisburg 25-6 and 25-11 on Monday. The Lady Red Devils were to have played Massac County following the A-J-Carterville match on Tuesday. The regional championship is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, today.