St. Joe Volleyball Team Dispatches Rival IWA With the Greatest of Ease

They used to say Cardinals Hall of fame pitcher Bob Gibson worked so fast for the Cardinals, it was if he was double parked outside the stadium.

If that was the case, then the Incarnate Word Academy team bus must have been parked in the fire lane Tuesday at St. Joseph’s Academy. They weren’t there long enough to get a ticket from the Frontenac police.

The Angels dispatched their arch rivals with the greatest of ease in less than 40 minutes, winning a two-set match, 25-10 and 25-12.

The front line of Natalie Gower, Lauren Gresham, Alyssa Jensen and Grace Carter gave great efforts from beginning to end.

Last week, the Angels' schedule was rudely interrupted, losing a two-set match to mighty Lafayette to open the long season.

This victory was achieved in a very workmanship, business-like manner. The Angels took the Red Knights apart like a surgeon operating with a laser knife. Short volleys ended in big slams in the win over IWA.

Gower, 6-foot-3 middle hitter liked what had just taken place. “I think we played well as a team. We played together. Our serving was great but I want to give credit to Incarnate, they played their hearts out.

We practiced hard, and we were preparing a lot for this match,” said Gower.

Defensive specialist 5-foot-5 Courtney Meek, gave the Angels a solid effort from the back line.  Her serving was crisp and sharp. “Especially after our last game (a loss to Lafayette) we came out and played our hardest. Winning is a good motivator and lets us know we are on the right track.

We want to play well all parts of the season, but I don’t think we are looking too far in advance,” said Meek.

“Our upper classes are really good, like seniors Lauren Gresham and Natalie Gower and junior Grace Carter on the right side gives us great blocking out there. We keep practicing and working harder all the time,” said Meek.

Veteran Coach Karen Davis was pleased with the results.

“Obviously the girls passed well. This was a different opponent on a different day. Anything can happen each day in a volleyball game. We said we needed to take care of business when we walked out on the court, and we did that,” said Davis.

Road Warriors

The Angels will be in Louisville, KY this weekend for matches against some of the top teams in the Mid West.

Here’s a video and pictorial look back at the quick two-set win over their rivals, the Red Knights of IWA.

More photos on the Ladue-Frontenac Facebook page.