Edwardsville opens SWC play with convincing win over Belleville East

In the midst of a 17-point scoring run by Edwardsville on Tuesday, Belleville East boys volleyball coach Stefanie Gaubatz called two timeouts and made numerous changes to the Lancers’ lineup in an effort to somehow put an end to the Tigers’ offensive assault.

Nothing worked.

With the Tigers riding the momentum of a come-from-behind win in game one, Tommy Hartnagel served 16 straight points early in game two as Edwardsville went on for a 25-22, 25-12 win in a Southwestern Conference boys volleyball match.

One night after suffering a rare loss to city rival Althoff, the Lancers (1-2) played well in the early part of the SWC opener for both teams. Getting inspired play from juniors Peter Bergt and Braden Shelley, the Lancers led by two points late in game one only to come up short.

With senior Alexander Bugg serving, Lancers outside hitter Shemar Welch opened the second game with a kill to give East a 1-0 lead. But when Hartnagel stepped to the service line following a hitting error it was the beginning of the end for the Lancers.

Sixteen points later, a weary Hartnagel hit a serve into the net with Edwardsville leading 17-2.

“We couldn’t do anything during that time. We couldn’t pass, we couldn’t block and we couldn’t hit,” Gaubatz said. “As a coach, I called a couple of timeouts but nothing worked. In that case it may have been better to let play go on and see if anyone stepped up as a leader.”

“It’s frustrating because I know we are a talented team. I know the players get along because they talk off the court. But for some reason they’re not communicating very well on the court right now.”

Balanced attack leads Tigers scoring run

Always a contender for the title in the rugged SWC, Edwardsville left little doubt that its a good team on Tusesday despite its 3-4 record. Hartnagel paced the Tigers attack with 18 service points while Nick Allen also had a big night with nine kills.

But during its 16 point run, the Tigers had five players score. Hartnagel added three aces while Belleville East made seven hitting errors.

Jack Grimm added a pair of kills while Allen added a kill and a pair of blocks at the net to aid in the Tigers attack.

“It was just one of those games where we got on a run and played very well. It’s great to see a player like Nick Allen have the kind of game he did tonight because of all the time and work that he has put into improving as a player,” Edwardsville coach Andy Bersett said.

“It’s also great to come here and win the (Southwestern) conference opener. Belleville East is a good team with a lot of talent. I have a lot of respect for Stefanie Gaubatz. She always does a great job of getting her team prepared to play.”

The turning point

Playing their SWC home opener, the Lancers gave Edwardsville all it wanted in the first game. Led the power of Bergt and the outside hitting of several players, East held a 21-19 advantage before its errors began to mount.

Three straight Lancers miscues gave the Tigers a 22-21 lead and when two more errors followed seconds later, the Tigers had game one and the momentum heading into game two.

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 12:47 AM with the headline "Edwardsville opens SWC play with convincing win over Belleville East."