Cobden wins regional volleyball championship

The host Cobden High School girls’ volleyball team defeated top-seeded Shawnee 25-22 and 25-18 to win its first Class 1A regional title Thursday, Oct. 25.

Shawnee led 16-12 in the opening game before Cobden came back to take a 19-18 lead behind two aces by Taylor Tomazzoli.

The game was tied 22-22 when Carley Washer scored from the middle to put the Appleknockers ahead.

Sandra Hartline then closed out the first game from the service line. Her first serve resulted in the Lady Reds being unable to return the ball and her second was an ace for the win.

“We played pretty well,” first-year Cobden coach Nathan Emrick said. “We got off to a shaky start and once we got going we done a good job.”

In the second game, Shawnee committed 8 unforced errors on Cobden’s first 11 points. The Lady Reds held a 12-11 advantage when the Appleknockers went on a 5-0 run to take the lead for good. Tomazzoli had her fifth ace during the run.

The Lady Reds came back to cut the lead to 17-15 but that would be as close as they would come the rest of the game.

 Emrick said Taylor Ellis, Tomazzoli and Hartline all had good games for the Appleknockers.

Cobden, 16-6, was to have played Goreville on Tuesday at the Marissa sectional.

“We are hoping we’re not done,” Emrick said. “We will kind of see how things go. We’ve got a young team and a lot of good athletes.”

The Appleknockers lost to the Lady Blackcats during the regular season. Shawnee finishes the season 16-12.