CLARKSVILLE — On Thursday night, the 17th-ranked Seymour volleyball team had to go into enemy territory to take on 15th-ranked Providence on the Pioneers’ home floor to open sectional play.
It was a tough draw for Seymour, which entered the postseason on a 17-match win streak.
The Owls’ win streak and season came to an end at the hand of the Pioneers 16-25, 22-25, 25-23, 17-25.
“I’m very proud of this team and what they’ve accomplished,” head coach Angie Lucas said. “I told them in the locker room afterward that I didn’t want this loss to define them as a team because what they have done throughout the season was just something wonderful.”
Lucas thought her team came out very shaky in the first set, which is something she expected to happen with the high stakes of the match.
“I figured we would,” Lucas said. “It’s one of those things where you’re playing on their home floor, and the intensity level is something you just can’t simulate in a practice. I knew we were going to have to weather that storm in that first set.”
That’s exactly what the Owls did. They played better in the second set and had a much more relaxed and calm demeanor.
Lucas said the girls figured out they would have to communicate louder with one another and play more together as a team. The Owls managed to do that, but they still fell short in the set, dropping it 25-22.
“We did play better,” Lucas said. “We had some bad breaks that kind of changed the momentum toward the end of the set.”
Seymour came out fired up in the third set and took control.
The Owls won the third set 25-23 to keep their season alive.
“For us to come out in the third set and play like we did, that was very good,” Lucas said.
Unfortunately for the Owls, things fell apart in the fourth set.
Defensively, Lucas didn’t think the Owls executed very well and didn’t follow the scouting report.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Owls had a good night. Olivia Fish led the team in hitting with 16 kills, Cali Cummings had 13 and Journee Brown had six as the Owls hit 98-101 as a team with 38 kills.
Paige Lawrence had two aces, and Fish and Valeria Ramirez each had one. Lawrence had 13 digs, and Addi Lemon had 34 assists.
“Defensively is where we struggled, and we know defense wins championships,” Lucas said. “Give Providence credit. They’re a really good serving team. They placed the ball where we weren’t, and we weren’t in the right positions.”
Despite being in enemy territory, Lucas said the Owl faithful showed out and made it a really great environment.
The team was obviously disappointed in the loss, but as Lucas alluded to, it was still a special season for the Owls.
Seymour was ranked inside the top 20 in Class 4A, and the Owls finished with a record of 26-5. They finished second place in the Hoosier Hills Conference, and they won plenty of tournament invitationals over the course of the season.
Thursday also marked the end of the road for Seymour’s three seniors — Lawrence, Ramirez and Kierstyn Ellis.
“It was hard for them,” Lucas said. “They’re wonderful kids that always put the team first. They didn’t want the season to end.”
On the bright side, with Seymour only losing three seniors, it means the Owls are bringing a lot of talent and experience back for next season.
This is two straight years that the Owls have been knocked out of the sectional by Providence, and Lucas said Thursday’s loss will help make this team better, but the Owls still have a lot of work to do.
“I think the more we’re in those kind of situations with that level of intensity, it will just help give us a little bit more confidence as we go through this again,” Lucas said. “We have a lot coming back, but we have a lot of work to do, as well. We’re a good team, don’t get me wrong. Don’t take away from anything those kids did this season and how hard they worked, but to get out of the sectional, we have to be a great team. We just have to, so there’s a lot of work that we have to.”