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Greencastle blasts Sullivan in home opener
The home comforts of McAnally Center were finally made available to Greencastle Wednesday night as the volleyball squad hosted Sullivan in the first WIC matchup of the year.
After a disappointing loss at Southmont the night prior, the Tiger Cubs buckled down and swept a previously unbeaten Golden Arrow side 27-25, 25-17, 25-19.
“Sullivan is a very good team,” Greencastle head coach Denise Meyer said. “I wish I had a crystal ball to go back and see what happened between tonight and last night (a 3-1 loss to Southmont).
“That was a huge win for us. Sullivan is a strong team with a lot of depth, offense and great service pressure and if there was one thing we said coming out of Southmont to tonight, it was to play loose, play to your potential and we’ll see what happens.
“The girls worked very hard from start to finish and I’m pleased with how much discipline they showed when Sullivan started to push,” Meyer added. “To have to scrap but stay composed, I was impressed with their effort.”
While Sullivan started the night with an ace, Greencastle set the tone in the following points as the frontline pair of Kylee Owens and Mackenzie Creviston recorded three blocks in the hosts’ first five points with aces from Allie and Maddie Landry helping build an 8-2 lead.
The Golden Arrows closed the gap down to one at 13-12 from 13-8 while two more Allie Landry aces helped take the lead out to four at 17-13.
After a Keely Amis point made it 19-15, Sullivan closed the gap to one at 20-19 and eventually tied the set at 22-22.
The teams traded off the next four points but the Golden Arrows moved the set point off a Parker Mischler killer that made it 25-24.
Sullivan failed to return the next point and a Maddie Landry ace gave the home side set point, one that finished in slightly anticlimactic fashion as the visitors committed a net violation to hand the set to the Tiger Cubs.
“It was huge to put the set win together like they did,” Meyer said about the opening set, specifically the front line blocking early. “Kylee, Mackenzie and Madi, when she came in, having those hands up there really set the tone for the night.”
More blocks from Owens and Creviston helped the hosts build a 6-1 start to the second set, a lead that continued to balloon as a point from Amis made it 10-4, who later added an ace to make it 15-7.
Madi Plew pushed the lead to 10 at 18-8 with an ace while a Owens block and two Allie Landry aces kept the lead at 10 at 22-12.
Sullivan briefly closed the gap to six but a point and ace from Melani York and an Owens kill sealed the second set and handed the hosts a 2-0 lead.
“It was really important to try and match Sullivan point for point and serve for serve, to go behind the line and put the pressure on them,” Meyer said. “Part of the formula, of the things we can control, is service pressure.
“Blocking is harder to control because of different variables but the service pressure and shot selection when we were hitting was very good.”
The Golden Arrows had their best start of the night in set three though Greencastle tied things at 5-5 and reached double digits first off a Creviston block at 10-8.
An ace from Maddie Landry helped push the lead further up as the hosts led 13-8 before Sullivan took six of the next eight points to pull within one at 15-14.
A long rally ended with a missed Sullivan attack with a block and kill from Owens doubling the lead to 18-14.
Owens provided three kills down the stretch to push the lead to 24-17 and Greencastle fittingly finished the night with a Plew block to knock Sullivan from the ranks of the unbeaten.