MEDORA – It was another evening filled with sectional volleyball in Jackson County on Thursday.
The Class A Sectional 62 is taking place at Medora High School with Crothersville battling New Washington to open up play.
The Tigers wound up falling to the Mustangs in three sets, 25-18, 25-9, 25-16. New Washington seized control of the match at the beginning of the second set, not allowing Crothersville back into the game.
Tigers coach Scott Sage spoke about the outcome with the Mustangs.
“I thought we came out and played well at the beginning. Overall, our experience is very young,” he said. “This experience they have gotten this season will be critical for them if they continue to play. We just haven’t played consistently enough at times. That’s a characteristic of a very young team.”
Crothersville had the lead in the first set, battling with New Washington but ultimately falling to the Mustangs.
“We had a lead through the first half of the first set. We had a couple of things not going our way. Just like in life, we had a hard time rebounding from that,” Sage said. “You could see our energy and our execution go down after a few negative plays. Overall, give credit to New Washington. We played them a few weeks ago. I thought we competed better tonight than we did last time.”
Crothersville freshman Brooklyn Bottorff spoke about the season and improving in the offseason as the Tigers will begin to prepare for 2024.
“I want the team to grow as we move forward into the next season,” she said. “I really thought it was a good season. We worked really hard this season. We kept up with a lot of good teams.”
Bottorff also plays basketball for Crothersville, and she will begin preparations for that.
Sage also was asked about his two volleyball seniors in Makenna Newberry and Elayna Ord.
“I want to congratulate our seniors. I appreciate what they have done. They are great in the classroom and have grown tremendously as players,” he said. “They have tried to create energy for us. Overall, I want to congratulate them and wish them the very best as they move forward.”
New Washington will move onto facing another Jackson County school in Trinity Lutheran, which will look to win its 10th straight sectional title.
The Mustangs play the Cougars on Saturday at noon. The winner will face Medora or Rising Sun in the championship on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Serving: Brooklyn Bottorff, 9-10-2, Makenna Newberry, 5-7-2
Setting: Makenna Newberry, 21-22, Grace Smith, 33-33
Hitting: Brooklyn Bottorff, 16-2o-6, Elayna Ord, 11-12-3
Assists: Grace Smith, 8, Makenna Newberry, 5
Defensive digs: Elayna Ord, 9. Zoey Prince, 8