Crothersville volleyball falls in three to South Decatur

0

CROTHERSVILLE

Through its first few matches of 2018, Crothersville’s volleyball team has gone through some ups and downs.

From five-set wins to getting blanked in the set scores.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery

Against South Decatur on Monday, the Tigers couldn’t get the momentum to stay on their side, as they fell 25-17, 25-20, 25-23.

In the first set, the visitors built a 9-2 lead to force a CHS timeout.

Out of the break, the Tigers won a pair of points — on kills by Maddie Riley — to slice the deficit to 10-5. South Decatur then used a pair of small runs to widen the gap to 20-10 before a 4-0 run put the set within reach. While the Tigers won four straight points, they weren’t able to surmount a comeback and went down 25-17.

The Cougars again came out firing in the second set, taking an early 7-1 lead. The visitors continued to build the advantage until the Tigers used 5-1 run to cut it to 17-16. A kill from Makayla Helt brought it to 21-20 in favor of South Decatur, but the Cougars took the next five points to claim the set.

The teams stayed within three points of each other in the third set until a 9-0 run put the Cougars up 20-12. Down 24-16, the Tigers finally got some momentum. On serves by Bekah Cook, CHS won seven straight points to bring the score 24-23. However, a comeback wasn’t in order for the Tigers, as a hitting error ended the match.

Tigers coach Kourtney Settle wants to see the group start playing more as a team.

“I told them (in the locker room) that when they play as a team — as a whole — they can win games,” Settle said. “I can tell, and I think the fans can tell, when the team starts playing individually. That’s when it starts going downhill. I told them they need to play better as a team if they’re going to continue winning games.”

Riley led the Tigers with eight kills while going 27-for-32 on hits. The team finished 41-for-48 on hits with nine kills total

Serving, Kennadi Lakins had the Tigers’ lone ace. Kaitlin McVey had 11 digs for CHS.

Settle said she also wants to see more energy on the court.

”They need to get excited for each other and pick each other up,” she said. “(South Decatur) was obviously very excited. We need to get like that. When we play excited, and have fun, we play better. This game and Friday night’s game had two different teams. Friday, they were upbeat and played a lot faster-paced game.”

“They played really slow and lackadaisical. They didn’t move their feet, and that’s not good in volleyball. They need to learn to react better, especially with short tips and hard-hit balls.”

The coach has played a pair of underclassmen in the varsity rotation, as Lakins and Mariyah Kelshaw are both freshmen.

“I have a couple freshmen in the lineup. There are moments when they have freshmen moments, but I think there are times where they really step up and play well together,” Settle said.

The Tigers (4-4) will travel to Medora on Thursday for a varsity-only contest.

No posts to display