After Brownstown Central and Seymour split the first four sets of their volleyball match in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium on Tuesday night, the Braves took control of the fifth set to go home with a 25-21, 25-19, 16-25, 19-25, 15-9 victory.
The Braves opened a 7-0 lead in the fifth set on an attack kill by Kayla Guthrie.
The Owls closed the difference to 7-4 on a kill by Sydney Montgomery before the Braves regained the momentum on back-to-back kills by Kendra McCory.
A pair of kills by Guthrie down the stretch kept the Braves safely in front, and match point came on a serving error by the Owls.
Seymour took an 11-6 lead in the first set, and after Braves coach Jennifer Shade called a timeout, the visitors battled back and tied the set at 12 and took their first lead at 15-14 on a kill by Guthrie. McCory had a kill for set point.
The Braves jumped on top 9-4 in the second set and led all the way.
A kill by Kalee Borden put Brownstown on top 18-13, and the teams matched points, leaving the Braves with a 23-18 lead. Jennifer Pence had a kill for set point.
The Owls started out strong in the third set, taking a 9-5 lead on two kills by Breanna Lawrence. Seymour extended a 12-9 lead to 21-11 on a kill by Lauren Knieriem. Set point came on a serving error by the Braves.
The fourth set was tied six times, and the Braves’ final lead was at 15-13 before Seymour scored four consecutive points to lead 17-15.
The Owls used another 4-0 run to lead 22-16, and after the Braves rallied for three straight points, the Owls closed out the set on back-to-back kills by Knieriem.
The Owls had 46 kills with Knieriem coming up with 13, Montgomery 11 and Lawrence eight.
Seymour 76-98-10 in serves with Montgomery serving five aces and Lawrence with two aces. Knieriem had 19 digs, and Lawrence had 37 assists.
“Any time it’s Seymour-Brownstown, it’s a fun game,” Shade said. “It’s a different type game. To come out of Seymour with a win is exciting for Brownstown. We had too many unforced errors.”
The Braves were 86-99-6 in serves with McCory serving five aces and Reagan Nuss had two aces. The Braves had 61 kills with Guthrie leading with 19, Pence 14 and McCory 14.
Seymour was without two starters, Maggie Connell and Olivia Fish.
“They are two of our better players. They are on the mend, and we hope to have them back next week,” Owls coach Angie Lucas said.
“We dug a hole in the fifth set,” she said. “We made some silly errors, but give Brownstown credit. They stopped us, and that is what good teams are supposed to do. I hated the start because we came back and were playing some good volleyball.”