Hartsburg-Emden 7th grade
volleyball places third at state
[March 17, 2025]
The Hartsburg-Emden Stags earned a third place finish on
Saturday in the 2025 IESA 7th Grade Class 1A State Tournament at
Clinton Junior High School.
The Stags defeated Mattoon St. John’s 25-22 and 25-9 on Friday night
to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.
Courtney Cecil led the Stags with 11 kills versus the Eagles.
On Saturday afternoon the Stags lost a three-set battle with Cissna
Park. After winning the first set 25-14, the Stags fell to the
Wildcats in set two 25-18 and a heartbreaking 25-23 in set three.
Piper Leesman and Courtney Cecil each led the Stags with 6 kills
against Cissna Park.
The loss forced the Stags to turn around and immediately play Normal
Epiphany in the third place match. Hartem defeated the Knights 25-21
and 25-22 to bring home the third place trophy.
Piper Leesman led the Stags with 8 kills while Courtney Cecil and
Lila Cross each had 6 kills in the third place game.
Lila Cross was named the Stags recipient of the IESA Sportsmanship
Award.
Hartem Coach Jennifer Hayes was very proud of how her young Stags
improved over the season and finished on a winning note, bringing
home the coveted hardware from a state tournament.
“After playing well Friday night against Mattoon St. John’s, we
definitely started the match off much calmer on Saturday than Cissna
Park,” began Hayes. “But I knew after we won the first set that they
would regroup. And they did and caught us on our heels a bit. We got
down early and couldn’t close the gap. In set three it was back and
forth. Then we had a bad run of four or five in a row that got us
way behind. Then we started to really turn it on and play more
aggressively but was late in the game. We got down 20-24 and got all
the way back to 23-24. Cissna Park called the time out to regroup.”
“When we came out of the timeout we were serving,” said Hayes. “They
had a perfect pass and set it to their outside, who just had a great
kill. That’s how we lost 23-25. But I commend these girls so much.
None of them had ever been to the state tournament before. So to
show up the first year and play as great as they did is such an
accomplishment. We had twelve minutes to reset to play a good Normal
Epiphany team, but we knew we wanted to end on a win. And we came
out and dominated. That shows a great future for Hartem volleyball!”
The Stags finished the season with a 24-4 record.
Congratulations, Stags, on your third place finish!
Stats vs. Mattoon St. John’s
Points
Lila Cross 12
Piper Leesman 10
Charli Schleder 4
Brinley Ballance 3
Courtney Cecil 2
Addie Wetherell 2
Harper Whitted 1
Kills
Courtney Cecil 11
Lila Cross 3
Piper Leesman 1
Abria Fletcher 1
Jaelynn Hinch 1
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The third place Hartsburg-Emden Stags 7th grade volleyball team.
Photo courtesy of Julie Cross
Blocks
Lila Cross 2
Assists
Lila Cross 11
Addie Wetherell 1
Digs
Piper Leesman 5
Courtney Cecil 3
Brinley Ballance 2
Addie Wetherell 1
Stats vs. Cissna Park
Points
Addie Wetherell 9
Courtney Cecil 9
Lila Cross 9
Charli Schleder 4
Piper Leesman 3
Brinley Ballance 1
Eisley Moos 1
Kills
Courtney Cecil 6
Piper Leesman 6
Lila Cross 5
Abria Fletcher 4
Addie Wetherell 3
Assists
Lila Cross 7
Brinley Ballance 2
Courtney Cecil 1
Digs
Addie Wetherell 10
Courtney Cecil 9
Piper Leesman 8
Brinley Ballance 2
Lila Cross 1
Avia Leesman 1
Stats vs. Normal Epiphany
Points
Piper Leesman 12
Courtney Cecil 11
Brinley Ballance 6
Abria Fletcher 3
Addie Wetherell 1
Lila Cross 1
Kills
Piper Leesman 8
Courtney Cecil 6
Lila Cross 6
Abria Fletcher 2
Addie Wetherell 1
Assists
Lila Cross 10
Blocks
Lila Cross 1
Digs
Courtney Cecil 7
Piper Leesman 5
Addie Wetherell 4
Brinley Ballance 4
Abria Fletcher 1
[Teena Lowery]
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