CARTHAGE, Ill. — It was a battle of contrasting styles in Monday’s cross state battle between Illini West and Hannibal.

The Chargers showed off their height and athleticism and the Pirates countered with its speedy up-tempo offense.

Hannibal came away with a 2-1 win in a game that could had went either way.

“A wins a win,” said Hannibal head coach Jason Leindecker. “That wasn’t our best volleyball by any means. We were definitely on the struggle bus for a long time, but they got it corrected and we came out on the right side.”

It was not an easy win by Hannibal, who dropped the first set 25-19.

The Pirate stormed back to win the second set 25-16 and rallied to win the third set by a razor-thin 25-23 margin.

“They wouldn’t let anything drop,” said Leindecker. “They definitely played some defense. They are a good blocking team and we couldn’t get our shots to hit the floor.”

The Chargers had the lead for much of the third set until Hannibal seized control late.

“I thought the girls did awesome,” said Illini West head coach Sawyer Johnson. “Especially in that first and third set. Just being willing to come out and play aggressively.”

Illini West had a bit of a lull in the second set after its first set win.

“I think we struggle if we’re so strong in the first set,” said Johnson. “In the second set, we knew they probably weren’t going to make as many errors and give us as many points. We lost the momentum for a little bit in that second set, and I think that’s why we struggled. Just being able to play the way they did in the third set is impressive, even though they lost.”

It took a mental reset for Hannibal when they found themselves down three points in the latter part of the third set.

The Pirates needed a mental reset at various points of the game to seize momentum back from the Chargers, especially late in the third set.

“It’s bonus volleyball,” said Leindecker. “That’s what I tell them is they get a little extra volleyball, so go out and get some practice in. My mentality is if we lose the set, is that we get a little bonus volleyball.”

Hannibal had some big contributions from its front row, starting with sophomore Lyla Dorsey.

“I would say Lyla was one that just got locked in and made some big time plays for us,” said Leindecker. “Plays that could had went either way. Her hustle plays were a big difference tonight.”

For Illini West, it took a total team effort.

“After every game, we always give gifts to players, so we pick some of the girls who really stood out,” said Johnson. “Today, it was like everybody on the team did something awesome tonight that we’re really proud of.”

Up next for Illini West (19-10) is a road game against Rushville-Industry (13-12) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, followed by a home game against West Prairie (16-13) at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

“We will get a chance for a few more games this week,” said Johnson. “Even though we lost, it’s still coming off a really strong game where we really pushed ourselves to play well. So I think we have momentum going into the rest of the week even though we didn’t get the win.”

Up next for Hannibal (21-9-1) is a home game against North Central Missouri Conference rival Marshall (3-19) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, followed by a road game against Fulton (12-13) at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

“We’re about done with the season and on to the postseason,” said Leindecker. “(Illini West) were a tough team to play. There were a lot of people here and I think the noise got to us a little bit and got us a little rattled, but they scrapped it out at the end.”

*Editor’s Note: Statistics will be added to article once they become available.