Greencastle defeats Eagles in Attack for the Cure contest in three sets

As their county counterparts did a few weeks ago, Greencastle and South Putnam played a Volley for the Cure match to help raise money in the fight against breast cancer.

South Putnam was also celebrating senior night, but even with a large contingent of their peers in the stands, Greencastle overwhelmed the hosts 25-19, 25-13 and 25-23.

The Tiger Cubs raced out to a quick 7-1 lead in the first set and were cruising along, up 21-13 at one point, before the Eagles began to battle back.

South Putnam closed the gap to four at 23-19 before Greencastle finished off the first set 25-19 to take a 1-0 advantage.

Greencastle again jumped out quickly in the second set but were pegged back at 6-6. The visitors shook loose their pursuers, however, and after building a 17-12 advantage, closed the second set out on an 8-1 run.

The hosts took the lead to begin the third set before both squads settled into a grinding final round.

Tied at 9-9 and 10-10, South Putnam held the lead for much of the rest of the set and looked to be in good position to take the third set while leading 20-16.

A six point swing, however, saw Greencastle take the lead and though the hosts tied the match one final time at 22-22, Greencastle took three of the last four points to win 25-23 and sweep the match 3-0.

Greencastle head coach Trish Lowe said that the squad put right some of the wrongs of early matches this week.

"I'm real happy about the win. It's been a difficult week and we've played up and down; really well in streaks and kind of bad in streaks," Lowe said.

"I was happy with our bench support. It's a win and we're happy to walk out of here with it."

Lowe said that the squad is building a head of steam, even after having to adapt to the loss of one of their starters.

"I think that we're moving forward at the right time. We have a tournament on Saturday and two matches next week," Lowe said.

"We have five matches to get to our best volleyball and we're constantly changing things. We're still working on a system while we have a girl out with a concussion.

"We can't be totally sure she's going to be available to us so we've made changes in our line-ups.

"Eventually, in five games, we'll figure out where we need to be and what still needs to be worked on."

South Putnam head coach Renata Hendrickson said that the enthusiasm gap continues to be a concern for her squad.

"I thought we played OK. Sometimes we just had our heads down and we need to make sure and keep up our enthusiasm, even when we don't play well, as the match had its ups and downs," Hendrickson said.

"Our hitting has greatly improved throughout the season, as have many other things. We need the girls to stay excited, keep their heads up and pull everything together for the team."

Both coaches commended both the squads and the spectators in attendance for their efforts in making Thursday night memorable.

"The girls did a really good job of raising money for the cause. It was a fun night for both teams and the spectators. All of it was for a good cause," Hendrickson said.

"It was a great night recognizing those who've had or have had loved ones who've suffered with breast cancer. I'm happy to be a part of an event like this," Lowe added.

"Sometimes it's hard to think about those things, about people who have been affected by cancer, and then to go out and play your game. I think the girls did a pretty good job of that tonight."

At South Putnam

Greencastle 25 25 25

South Putnam 19 12 23

Next match: Greencastle participates in the Cascade Cadet Invitational Saturday. South Putnam travels to Cascade next Tuesday.