ELSAH, IL – Saturday was a breakthrough day for the Principia volleyball program, who won their first match in six years after a five-set thriller against Harris-Stowe State University. The Panthers hosted the Hornets in their new home arena of Crafton Center for their home opener as a large crowd assembled to cheer on the nine women who helped resurrect the program after a suspended season last fall.
The Hornets took the opening set 25-18 as the Panthers settled into the match. Principia raised their level in the second set jumping out to a strong 20-11 lead. Harris-Stowe got back in the set by winning the next six points to cut to the lead to 20-17, but the Panthers regained momentum and closed out the set 25-21.
The third set began as an even battle with Harris-Stowe ahead 16-15 midway through. The Hornets then won nine of the next ten points to win the set and take a 2-1 overall lead. The fourth set looked to be more of the same as Harris-Stowe led 23-14 on the verge of winning the match.
However, the Panthers decided they weren't going down without a fight as they won the next five points before a service error put the Hornets one point away from victory. Principia continued their determined play and saved five straight match points to cut the score to 24-24. They then saved one more match point and won three straight to take the fourth set 27-25 and force a deciding set to 15.
The fifth set began as a back-and-forth battle with tensions high and the crowd loud. After giving up a 5-0 run to go down 12-7, the Panthers would again have to rely on their resilience and grit as they returned the favor with their own 5-0 run to tie it back up at 12-12. From then on, neither team was able to string more than two points together as the set extended past the 15 point threshold needed to win.
Finally at 17-17, the Panthers finally prevailed to win 19-17 and end their six-year winless drought. The home crowd went crazy as a large group of students rushed the court to celebrate with the team after the handshake line.
Newcomer
Kelenna Onukwugha led the Panthers with a big double-double of 18 kills and 16 digs, plus 4 aces.
Dana Galinis (10 kills and 12 digs) and
Sam Borton-Center (9 kills and 9 digs) also played big roles on offense and defense, while
Alex Kibbe contributed an impressive 33 assists to go along with 3 kills and 9 digs.
This win marks the program's first victory since September 24, 2019 against Eureka College. Longtime head coach Mary Ann Sprague retired after the 2019 season, and there was no season held in 2020 due to the pandemic. After going through a couple different coaches the last few seasons, former player and recent grad
Alana Hinson took over as interim head coach this season. With only three returning players, six new women joined the squad this fall ready to revive the program which will return to SLIAC play in 2026.
"This win is huge, not just for our current team, but the 2021-24 teams that fought to keep the program alive," said Coach Hinson. "I could not be more proud of our athletes and the way they came together for this victory. It is exhausting to battle through five sets, so to be able to pull off the win is incredible. This is just the beginning for us!"
The Panthers will look for continued success when they head to St. Louis Community College this coming Tuesday at 6:00 pm.
