The Crothersville volleyball team got off to a great start in the Trinity Lutheran Class 1A sectional by holding a 14-8 lead over Rising Sun midway through the first set of Thursday’s matches.

The Tigers were still on top 15-11 before Reece Merica served the Shiners into a 19-15 lead. The Shiners went on to win the first set 25-17 and followed up with 25-7 and 25-10 wins to advance to today’s semifinals.

After Trinity Lutheran faces Hauser at 11 a.m. today in the Bollinger Athletic Complex, Rising Sun will play Milan, and the winners will return at 6 p.m. for the championship.

Tigers Coach Kristy Wright liked the way her teams started out.

“I think the girls were more relaxed,” she said. “They came out really believing that they could win, so they had confidence and when we got a few points up they believed in themselves, and they kept going.”

The Tigers held a 6-2 lead in an ace serve by Rayleigh Lewis, were on top 9-5 on a tip by Lewis, and used a passing error by Rising Sun to lead 15-8.

An attacking error by the Shiners put the Tigers on top 15-11 before Rising Sun outscored Crothersville 17-2 the rest of the set.

The second set was tied 2-2, and the Tigers trailed 8-4 before Rising Sun pulled away.

Rising Sun scored the first five points of the third set. The Tigers were only able to score back-to-back points once in this set with a kill by Kendra Kershaw leaving the Tigers down 17-7.

Zoey Prince had a kill late in the second before Rising Sun scored match point.

“We just struggle when we get down to keep our heads in the game, and keep that confidence,” Wright said.

The Tigers were 31-34-3 in serves with Prince 9-9 and Lewis 7-7-1.

Brooklyn Bottorff was 6-7-2 and Kelshaw was 6-8-1 in attacks.

Wright said, “They just have that mindset that when they get down it’s hard to get them back up, but it’s a great group of girls. They don’t stop playing. It’s that confidence in themselves that they need to keep.”

The Tigers finished with a record of 9-13, and there were not any seniors on the team as three juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen made up the sectional roster.

Wright said. “I’d like to see them play club ball, but I don’t think a lot of them do. They play basketball, so it’s just me being able to get them in the gym, especially those who aren’t playing basketball, just keep playing when we can, and start earlier. I wasn’t hired until June and I hit the road running, so we need to do some things in the summer.

“I plan on going to a team camp and to help with their skills and it’s not just me that they’re listening to, having that experience with other coaches and other players so know that they can play with other people.”

Trinity Lutheran Sectional — Thursday

Rising Sun 3, Crothersville 0

Rising Sun def. Crothersville 25-17, 25-7, 25-10.

Serve-Attempt-Aces

Serving: Zoey Prince 9-9-1, Rayleigh Lewis 7-7-1, team 31-34-3

Attempts-Total-Kills

Hitting: Brooklyn Bottorff 6-7-2, Kendra Kelshaw 6-8-1, team 22-27-5