The Brownstown Central-Seymour volleyball match Tuesday night turned out to be the rivalry fans expected as the Lady Braves left the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium in Seymour with a 20-25, 25-14, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11 victory.

Brownstown head coach Jennifer Shade spoke on the hard-fought win afterwards.

“This game is so different than any game we play all year because it’s a county rival,” Shade said. “There are plays made and things done that you don’t even see during the season because the kids want to win so badly. This is great for both teams here at the end of the season, for both teams to play a match like that so you are ready for tournament time.”

The Class 2A No. 1 ranked Braves led 6-1 in the first set before the Owls rallied for a 9-9 tie. The last tie in this set came at 16-all before Seymour went on a 6-1 run to lead 22-17. Set point came on a kill by Seymour’s Emerson Johnson.

Brownstown opened a 9-3 lead in the second set and stayed ahead all the way with Olivia Fritz getting a kill for set point.

The Lady Braves then held a 13-10 lead in the third set before increasing it to 20-11 on a kill by Sophie Wischmeier. They then used a block to score the decisive point.

Seymour held a 19-12 lead in the fourth set before the Braves rallied to force a tie at 20-20. The score also was knotted at 21-21 before back-to-back kills by Greer Henry put the Owls ahead for good.

The Braves led the entire fifth set, taking a 6-2 lead on a kill by Fritz, then later taking a 12-6 lead on a kill by Jaydynn Yeadon. The Owls closed to within 13-10 on a kill by Maggie Braman. The Braves scored the match point on a passing error by the Owls.

It was senior night for the Seymour seniors, Claire Urbanski, Johnson, Abby Followell, Kenzie Gagner and Henry.

Owls coach Angie Lucas said she will miss the seniors.

“I get very emotional when I think of our seniors this year because they are just high character young ladies that come in the gym and work hard every single day,” Lucas said. “They never complain. They never have a bad moment. They’re always here for this program and for each other. I love them.”

The Braves were 128-148-60 in attacks with Wischmeier going 44-50-22. Kinzee Dean also was 22-26-14.

Shade spoke about the enthusiasm from the team.

“I told the girls in the locker room that I loved the way we played the first 10 points, and I loved the way we played the last 10 points with all that enthusiasm,” Shade said. “I just hope to see that build and carry into the tournament, so that is what we will probably focus on.

“All parts of our game had moments where it was great. I just think if our girls can buckle down and get that enthusiasm to want to play like that all the time that we’ll be unstoppable.”

Dean spoke about the magnitude of the rivalry.

“It is always a rivalry every year in every sport,” Dean said. “We are both very athletic and very talented schools, and we are incredibly competitive, and we came out to see who could claw their way to the top, and that is how it is every year.”

“You never know. It’s always a tossup and a very good game to watch,” Dean said. “I don’t think we were as mentally prepared for this game as we should have been, but we did do things when we needed to. When we needed a side out, we knew what ball it was.”

The senior spoke on the preparation from Seymour during the game, as well as Brownstown’s adjustments.

“I think they took a little more time scouting us than we did them,” Dean said. “They knew what we were going to do, they knew who our big hitters were, who our big blockers were. They changed their rotation a couple times throughout the match, to have different girls against our blockers.

“I think we adjusted well with what we had, and we knew we could keep running the middle so once we figured that out in the third set, so we just went with that.”

The Braves missed only four of 104 serves with Finley Wheeler getting four aces, and Alex Davidson and Fritz each having three aces.

Seymour had 55 kills with Johnson 31-35-14 and Henry 56-61-20 in attacks. The Owls went 83-91-5 in serves with Anna Fish going 14-16 2, Jamie Bobb was 18-18-1 and Johnson was 18-19-1.

Coach Lucas spoke about the difference in the game.

“I feel way better tonight than I did after New Albany,” Lucas said. “The effort was there, the desire was there, the fight was there. We bounced back very quickly from our mistakes. The point is we just made too many mistakes in the fifth set, too many crucial moments that just hurt us in the fifth set.”

“Brownstown is a very good team, a very respectable team, and for us to compete at that level, for that long, is very positive things for us,” Lucas added.

Urbanski suffered an ankle injury in the second set when she stepped on a Brownstown players’ foot under the net.

Urbanski, who was 6-6-1 in attacks before the injury, said she enjoys the rivalry.

“It meant everything to me. I’ve always dreamed of this, playing against Brownstown,” Urbanski said. “It’s been a thing ever since I was in middle school to wait for. It was amazing.”

The Seymour senior spoke about the effort from the team against the Lady Braves.

“I think it was probably our best game played so far,” Urbanski said. “We gave everything that we had, and that is what matters the most. I think we just need to pick up our momentum, and don’t get comfortable.”

The Braves are currently 22-2 and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, will travel to Scottsburg Monday. The Owls, 15-12, will play at Bedford North Lawrence on Tuesday.

Brownstown Central 3, Seymour 2

Brownstown Central def. Seymour 20-25, 25-14, 25-15, 23-25, 15-11.

Brownstown serving: Finley Wheeler 20-22-4, Alex Davidson 23-23-3, Olivia Fritz 16-16-3, team 100-104-13

Brownstown attacks: Sophie Wischmeier 44-50-22, Kinzee Dean 22-26-14, Brailey Teipen 15-18-7, team 128-148-60

Seymour serves: Emerson Johnson 18-19-1, Jamie Bobb 18-18-1, Anna Fish 14-16-4, team 83-91-5

Seymour attacks: Johnson 31-35-14, Greer Henry 56-61-20, team 151-165-55

Seymour digs: Henry 78.

Assists: Fish 40.

Junior Varsity

Seymour 2, Brownstown 0

Seymour def. Brownstown 25-22, 25-22

Seymour serves- Kennedy Hardman 11-11-3, Zohie Lynch 8-9-4, team 45-49-8

Seymour attacks: Lolah Polynice 11-13-7, Lynch 18-20-9, totals 53-61-24

Digs: McKenna Bobb 8,

Assists: Hardman 18

Brownstown serving: Emma Sparks 8-9-4, Charlie Garrison 6-6-1, Ella Nehrt 7-7-1, team 42-45-8

Brownstown attacks: Sparks 13-16-4, Nehrt 15-16-6, Lexi Zike 5-7-1, team 40-47-16