Jr. Lady Aces Fall To Eventual State Champions At Class L Finals

From Coach Bonnie Keepes:

Saturday the Varsity squad lost a hard fought battle against Waterloo in a very competitive match. The first set Waterloo went ahead quickly with a little serve receive breakdown and some blocks. We were playing a little tight and nervous. We did tie the set up 15-15, then Waterloo came back with some sneaky tips. They were able to mix it up with hitting and very well placed tips that kept our defense scrambling. We had some long volleys but Waterloo took the set 25-21.


The second set we were able to get a 7-1 lead quick with some strong serving and Waterloo hitting errors. Waterloo answered with more mixing up shots and some aces. Our defense was creeping in and then the got us on the lines going ahead 13-14, we had some good digs, and but Waterloo kept coming up strong extending the lead 17-21 then it went back and forth to 20-23. We were fighting to stay right there, but they came up with some good kills at the end took the set 20-25. Some stats were Lyla Keepes 2 kills, 3 digs, Kyleigh Smith 1 ace, 4 kills, Evie Sellers 1 ace, 1 kills, Riley Hershey 2 aces, 1 kill, 1 block, Kinley Harris 3 aces, 1 assist, Leah Lewis 4 assists, 1 dig.

From Coach The Waterloo team went on to win the championship beating all competitors in 2 sets, with the exact same score they beat us. They are the returning state champs, and have many players playing high level club ball in STL, so they were tough. We definitely learned from that match, and I would love to play them again, but it doesn’t work that way.  Did we get a very tough first round blind draw? Yes… But that’s just the way it goes sometimes. Everyone is going to be good when you get to state. I was very proud of how hard the girls fought for the win, and they always kept their energy up, even when Waterloo got a few runs. It was a hard loss because they wanted it so bad, but we had as amazing season, and were so excited to make it to state. We had the best fans without a doubt ! I feel so blessed to have been able to coach these girls this season, so many memories made. The future is bright for MTC Volleyball.  My husband Josh coached the girls in softball this year, so we both went to state with this group and had very successful seasons. Combined there is a whole pile of trophies, for us to turn into the school it’s pretty cool to see.

Lady Aces Track Open Season At Olney

The Mt. Carmel Lady Aces Track Team traveled to Olney on Wednesday to open their 2023 season, placing 3rd behind Olney & Fairfield and ahead of Flora and Lawrenceville.

Senior, Eden Wankel, led the way with first place finishes in the high jump (1.42m) and triple jump (8.99). She followed that up with a third place finish in the long jump (4.14m)

Sarah McCorkle (12.87) and Elyse Swanson (12.88) ran 1 & 2 in the 100 meters. McCorkle also finished 2nd in the 200 meters (28.8) and Swanson 4th in the long jump (4.06m).

Mt. Carmel’s sprint relay team of Elyse Swanson, Ava Brumagin, Ava Harrington and Sarah McCorkle won the 4x200 meter relay (2:01.4) and placed second in the 4x100. meter relay (55.2).

Rounding out the Lady Aces first place finishes was Katelyn Kline in the discus (24.61m).

Also scoring for the Lady Aces were:
Ava Brumagin - 5th -100 meters (14.3)
Chandler Cusick - 4th - 400 meters (1:14)
Lily Keepes - - 3rd - 1600 meters (6:39)
Ava Harrington - 3rd - 100 meter hurdles        (18.1)
Tenley Davis - 3rd - 300 meter hurdles (1:03)
Ashlin Trail - 4th - discus (19.83m)

The Lady Aces next meet is Tuesday, March 28th at Fairfield.

Aces Tennis Falls To Flora

Mt. Carmel - 1, Flora - 8,

Singles:
No. 1 - Bobby Powless, Flora def. Eli Bertram, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-3 , -;
No. 2 - Ollie Collins, Flora def. Brady Porter, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-1 , -;
No. 3 - Justin Pietz, Flora def. Xzavien Williams, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-1 , -;
No. 4 - Adam Pietz, Flora def. Jimmy Lin, Mt. Carmel, 6-2 , 6-1 , -;
No. 5 - Braxton Pipher, Flora def. Will Hudson, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-0 , -;
No. 6 - Lawson Spicer, Flora def. Xander Bader, Mt. Carmel, 6-0 , 6-0 , -;

Doubles:
No. 1 - Eli Bertram, Mt. Carmel - Brady Porter, Mt. Carmel def. Braxton Pipher, Flora - Jordan Gocey, Flora, 6-2 , 6-2 , -;
No. 2 - Elijah Luzadder, Flora - Zaiden Lewis, Flora def. Xzavien Williams, Mt. Carmel - Jimmy Lin, Mt. Carmel, 7-5 , 5-7 , 10-5 ;
No. 3 - Kyler Dennis, Flora - Noah Hatcher, Flora def. Will Hudson, Mt. Carmel - Xander Bader, Mt. Carmel, 6-3 , 6-1 , -;

Jr. Lady Aces Head To State After Winning Flora Regional

From Coach Bonnie Keeps: The Mt. Carmel Jr. High volleyball team is on a roll! They traveled to Flora coming in seeded first and played Carmi first. They played very clean the first set with minimal errors and it showed in the score 25-10. The second set we tried not to let down, but we did make many more hitting and serving errors, but still got the win 25-22. 

Carmi did play scrappy defense and we had some long volleys. 

For the stats Lyla Keepes 8 aces, 5 kills, 1 dig, Kyleigh Smith 1 ace, 1 kill, 2 digs, Evie Sellers 1 ace, 2 kills, 1 dig, 1 block, Riley Hershey 3 kills, 1 block, Kinley Harris 5 assists, Leah Lewis 2 aces, 4 assists, Mylee Farmer 2 digs. 

Next up we faced Olney for the Championship. They beat Flora as a 2 seed. This was the 5th time we played Olney this year. To start the first set we came up with a big lead 14-3 at one point. Olney was fighting hard for each point, and was able to close the gap some but we won the set 25-18. Our serve receive was very solid and helped us put up more attacks. The second set we started out with some hitting errors and did get down by a few for the first time. We then picked up the focus and made some great attacking series and spread the margin 12-6. Then we hit a serving freeze where we went through the whole rotation missing serves. Some nervous energy was possibly creeping in, and this let Olney back in the set. There were many long volleys the second set, but our girls fought hard for it and finished the set winning 25-22.  There was so much excitement with our student section flooding out onto the floor celebrating the win with a big dog pile in the middle. It was a well deserved moment for these girls. They have worked so hard with 2 hour practices, many open gyms prior to the season start, mini camps, and some taking private lessons with Syreeta.  The extra gym time paid off! 

Takeaways facing Olney Lyla Keepes 7 kills, Kyleigh Smith 2 aces, 1 dig, Evie Sellers 1 ace, 1 kill, 1 block, Riley Hershey 4 aces, Kinley Harris 1 ace, 7 assists, 1 block, Leah Lewis 4 assists, Mercedes Dillard with 1 kill, 1 dig, Mylee Farmer 1 dig. 

We will head to Pinckneyville next Saturday the 25th to face Waterloo at 11 o’clock.  

! also want to thank Nichole Loudermilk for capturing all of moments this season for the girls. 

Lady Aces Open Season By Blasting Wayne City, 21-0

Mt. Carmel - 21

Wayne City - 0

Final in 3 innings 

 

Bella Andrews pitched 2 innings giving up 0 runs on 1 walk and struck out 3.

Lexi Bertram pitched 1 inning giving up 0 runs on 0 walks and struck out 3. 

 

Carli Merritt was 3-3 with 1 Homerun, 1 double, and a walk. She scored 4 runs and had 2 RBI.

Molly Hagerty was 3-3 with 1 double, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBI.

Selby Patberg was 2-3 with 1 double, 1 walk, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBI.

Mackenzie Sanders was 2-3 with 1 double, 1 hit-by-pitch, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI.

Emma Banks was 1-4 with 1 double, scored 1 run and had 2 RBI.

Hailey Lang was 1-3, with 1 walk, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. 

Mattie Armstrong was 1-4, scored 2 runs and had 1 RBI. 

Libby Horton was 1-2 with 1 walk.

Hannah Parr was 1-1, scored 2 runs and had 1 RBI.

Abby Hedge was 1-1.

Bella Andrews walked once and scored 1 run.

Lauren Fisher scored 1 run. 

2023 Lady Aces Softball Preview

The MCHS Lady Aces softball team opens the season on the road this afternoon at Wayne City.

On today’s Morning Show, Coach Kyle Buss joined us to preview the 2023 team.

This year’s Lady Aces squad has a lot of holes to fill from last year’s team that went 21-0 in the regular season and won the Little Illini Conference championship & Harrisburg regional before bowing out to Carterville in the Sectional.

Mt. Carmel Volleyball Clinch Jr. NEC Titles For 7th And 8th Grade

From Coach Bonnie Keepes:

I’m very pleased to share that both teams went undefeated in the regular season conference play. 

The 8th grade group ended their last regular season game with a win at Olney to clench the title. They took each set 25-18, 25-15. The first set we came out with some hitting errors, and not playing as aggressively as I’d like, but they found their rhythm and cleaned up the errors. We gained big momentum into the second set, and all the girls were able to see court time tonight. I’m so proud of the way the girls have managed to stay tough, and just get the job done. Coming into regionals seeded first, they boast a 20 and 4 win loss record. 

For the stats Lyla Keepes 3 kills, 3 digs, Kyleigh Smith 6 kills, Evie Sellers 2 aces, 1 kill, 1 dig, 1 block, Riley Hershey 4 aces, Kinley Harris 3 assists, Leah Lewis 2 aces, 7 assists. 

The  7th grade group started with more hitting errors than we would like as well. They also got their momentum going, with big scoring runs, and did not look back. The girls had big set wins with scores of 25-13, 25-16. They played great together this season, and will be a team to watch next year. They close their season with a 17-2 record. Way to go ladies!! This group was also undefeated last year. Highlights were Alivia Peach 4 aces, 1 kill, 1 dig, 1 block, Journey Loudermilk 3 aces, 1 kill, Quincy Keepes 5 aces, 3 assists, Zoie Randall 2 aces, 1 kills, Bayley Andrews 1 ace, Gracee Haggard 1 kill, Ella Turner  4 aces, Ryleigh Gill 1 dig, Chloe Toutloff 1 ace.

The 6th grade group had a big lead the first set, but Olney shifted the momentum and took the set. Our girls came out strong the second set and won, but fell the third set. Set scores were 24-26L, 25-10W, 11-15L. Some stats to share are Opal Earnest with 2 aces, 4 assists, Macy Glenn 10 aces, 1 kill, Jersey Mounts 2 aces, 2 kills, Josie James 2 aces, Haleigh Prosise 2 aces, 1 kill, Farryn King 2 aces, 1 kill, Addie White 1 kill. Their season ended with 9 wins, 2 losses, and 4 split matches. Great job girls! 

I’m going to miss all the 6th and 7th graders in the gym, with 8th preparing for regionals. They are some amazing girls, who have grown so much in skill and confidence on the court. 

Next up the 8th grade will face Carmi for game one of the regional tournament on Thursday the 16th at 5 o’clock in Flora. The championship game will be played at 7 after the Olney vs Flora matchup at 6. Let’s go Aces! 

Mt. Carmel Aces Volleyball take down undefeated Fairfield to win conference

From Coach Bonnie Keepes:

Wow what an exciting night in the gym! 

The 8th grade group knew they had their work cut out for them. We had faced Fairfield before, during the championship match of the Albion tournament. We came up short both sets, but tonight was another story. 

The girls wanted this game, and they were fired up. We made so many great defensive plays, it was amazing. Weather Fairfield hit cross court or line we found a way to get it up. We were also attacking, and getting the offense going off the digs. 

They put on a great show for the fans, it was a battle! Fairfield had been undefeated going in with only 2 set losses, but had never lost a whole match. 

We were able to beat them in 2 sets winning 27-25, 25-20. It was an incredibly exciting moment for our girls, taking down an undefeated team.  The girls played their hearts out, and I’m so proud of them. Every single one of them had a great night. Our team unity was strong, and shined through. This win also clinched the conference championship for our Lady Aces. 

The takeaways are Lyla Keepes 2 aces, 1 kill, 6 digs, Kyleigh Smith 1 ace, 2 kills, 4 digs, 1 block, Evie Sellers 1 ace, 2 kills, 1 dig, Riley Hershey 3 kills, Kinley Harris 2 aces, 1 block, Leah Lewis 2 aces, 5 assists, 5 digs, Mercedes Dillard 1 dig. 

 The 7th grade group played well tonight. They were making smart choices at the net. They also had some great serve receive and digs. They were also able to take Fairfield in two sets winning 25-14, 25-19. 

Highlights were Alivia Peach had 4 aces, Journey Loudermilk 2 kills, Quincy Keepes 3 aces, 3 assists, 2 kills, Avery Coston 3 aces, 2 kills, Ella Turner  3 aces, Ryleigh Gill 1 kill.

The 6th grade team played a close first set dropping it 24-26, but then winning the second set 25-12. Some stats to share are Opal Earnest with 4 aces, 1 assist, Macy Glenn 3 aces, Jersey Mounts 2 aces, 1 kill, Annie Kanipe 1 dig, Josie James 4 aces, Haleigh Prosise 2 aces, 1 kill, Farryn King 2 aces, Erin Delong 1 ace. 

 

The Lady Aces only have one regular season match left facing Olney away next Monday. They are ranked first coming into the regional. It is next Thursday on March 16th in Flora starting at 5 playing Carmi first round. 

Jr. Lady Aces Sweep St. Mary's; Last Home Match Tonight

From Coach Bonnie Keepes:

Great night for Aces volleyball. All 3 teams took wins against St. Mary’s. 

The 6th grade started off the night working to pass, set, hit, and won at the first set with a score of 25-9. The second set the girls worked hard and took it 25-13. 

Some stats to share are Opal Earnest with 3 aces, 4 assists, Macy Glenn 4 aces, 1 Jersey Mounts 1 ace, 1 dig, Annie Kanipe 1 dig, Josie James 1 kill, Haleigh Prosise 1 kill, Addie White 1 dig. 

The 7th grade girls played well, keeping their serving and hitting errors down. They won both sets 25-12, 25-14.

Highlights were Alivia Peach had 4 kills, Journey Loudermilk 3 aces, 1 kill, Quincy Keepes 7 aces, 8 assists, Avery Coston 4 aces, Zoie Randall 2 aces, 3 kills, Bayley Andrews 1 assist, Ella Turner 1 kill. 

 The 8th grade match the girls started with some good attacking, but we started not moving out feet on serve receive, we are always working on this, so I hope we keep getting better at it going into regionals. The girls won both sets 25-16, 25-15. 

The takeaways are Lyla Keepes 3 aces, 5 kills, Kyleigh Smith 3 kills, Evie Sellers 2 kills, Riley Hershey 1 ace, 1 kill, 2 blocks, Kinley Harris 2 aces, 5 assists, Leah Lewis 3 aces, 7 assists, Mercedes Dillard 2 digs, Leila Sweeney 1 kill, Sophie Banks 1 ace. 

It was good to see all the teams get the W tonight. 

The girls play their last home game against Fairfield tonight. The 6th grade will start at 5:15. With 7th close to 6:00 and 8th close to 7:00.

Come watch some good Volleyball, and see Randy Beyke’s last time on the referee stand!