For The Tribune
The Trinity Lutheran volleyball team needed just three sets to defeat Lanesville at the Bollinger Athletic Complex on Tuesday.
In dominant fashion, the Cougars downed the Eagles with a 25-9, 25-7, 25-11 victory.
The first set started out with the Eagles committing a serving error.
The Cougars then took possession of the ball and scored 13 points off strong serving from Trinity Lutheran senior Hayley Carter.
Carter brought the team to an early 14-0 lead, forcing the Eagles to call two timeouts.
Cougars coach Chelsea Stroub said she was happy with Carter’s strong performance.
“She did an awesome job serving,” she said, adding that Carter’s serving run helped bring the team’s energy up to start the game. “It just brought everybody’s confidence up, so I think that just led us through the rest of the game and how we played.”
The Cougars then continued on and brought the game to 21-7 before giving the ball back to the Eagles.
Lanesville was able to score a couple of points before Trinity won the set 25-9.
The second set showed a little more turbulence for the Cougars, as the Eagles jumped to a quick 4-2 start.
The Cougars tied the game up at 4-4 and didn’t look back as they brought the score to 20-6.
A strong spike from sophomore Abby Hackman gave the Cougars the ball back, and Trinity went on to win the second set 25-7.
The third set started off as good competition as the two teams were tied at two.
The Cougars took a 4-3 lead before the two teams went back-and-forth until senior Haylee Barker served five points in a row to bring the game to 11-5.
The Cougars then took command and won the third and match set 25-11.
Stroub said she was pleased with the way the team performed throughout the three sets.
“We played our game and our pace, level, so I was proud of the girls for doing that,” she said.
The Cougars (13-8) will have a break as they will not play until Monday against South Decatur at home. Stroub said the team could use a break for rest after a recent busy schedule.
“I think it will be good,” she said. “We’ve played like three or four matches in a row, so we’re ready to just unplug a little.”