For The Tribune
The Seymour volleyball team ended an eight-game skid against Jennings County on Thursday evening by winning in four sets, 25-21, 25-17, 15-25, 25-21, at Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.
The Owls, 2-8, 2-2 Hoosier Hills Conference, won their first game since winning the season opener against Jeffersonville.
Owls coach Holly Birdsong said getting the win felt good, but now the team must move on to its next challenge.
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“It feels good to get the win, and it’s what we need heading into this weekend,” she said.
In the first set, the Owls were able to jump to a quick 14-7 lead behind several moderate runs. The set opened with Abby Schmidt scoring the first three points for the Owls. The Owls were then to the benefit of the Panthers mistakes.
That’s when sophomore Emma Gillaspy scored three points in row, forcing a timeout by the Panthers. Gillaspy was able to get another point for the team before turning the ball back over to the Panthers.
Both teams exchanged points, and the Panthers made a small run at the end, but Schmidt had other plans and shut the door on the Panthers with a kill to give her team the 25-21 victory in the opening set.
The second set started off well for the Owls as they jumped to a quick 6-2 lead with sophomore Sophia Stahl scoring three straight points.
The teams exchanged points, and Seymour ended up with a 15-9 lead. Neither team could establish much command of the match as they exchanged more points and both teams logged a number of faults on serves.
The Owls ended up winning the second set by a score of 25-17.
It appeared as though the Owls were going to roar their way to a three-set sweep, but the Panthers had other plans.
The Panthers came out with an aggressive style of play in the third set to show the Owls they weren’t going down without a fight.
The Panthers rolled through points quickly and caught the Owls off guard. Before the Owls could adjust to the tempo of the Panthers, they had let the Panthers earn a commanding 19-6 lead, a deficit that could not be erased.
The Panthers used runs by seniors Sydney Holt, Emma Shockley and Madeline Hill to build the lead.
The Owls did light a spark toward the end of the set, mustering an impressive seven-point run led by sophomore Kate Snook to bring the score to 21-14 in favor of the Panthers. But it was too late and the Panthers were able to roll to a 25-15 win to force a fourth set.
“We can’t let things like that happen,” Birdsong said. “We just seem to always have a point in our game where we can push and play on. We have to find ways out of that.”
The Owls appeared to be more sharp in the fourth set and jumped to a 7-3 with Stahl getting things started for the Owls on a three-point run.
Birdsong said she was happy her team was able to fight back after a crushing defeat in the third set.
“It was good to finish that game four with a win,” Birdsong said. “I was proud of them for bouncing back that way.”
Both teams battled it out, but the Owls proved to be stronger and won 25-21.
The Owls will play in a tournament at Providence on Saturday