SOUTHMONT VOLLEYBALL SECTIONAL: Panthers overturn 0-2 deficit, reverse sweep Eagles to reach final

NEW MARKET – The South Putnam Eagle volleyball team used elite defense to take a 2-0 lead over the sectional favorite Riverton Parke Panthers on Saturday, but the Eagles ran out of gas and the Panthers were able to recover and advance to the championship game of IHSAA Volleyball Class 2A Sectional No. 44.

The Eagles repelled multiple kill shots and kept the ball alive with fantastic court coverage early, but the Panthers were able to find holes in the defense in the final three sets to win 15-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-20, 15-7. The win improved the Panthers to 25-3 on the season, while the Eagles finished the year at 9-18.

“We started losing steam. That was one thing we talked about after Thursday’s game, we were glad we could get that one in three games,” South Putnam head coach Ellen Houser said.

The Eagles took the first set as early on they frustrated the Panthers by continuously returning kill shots and forced the Panthers into errors with great floor coverage.

Riverton Parke closed a six-point deficit to three, but Olivia Woolums picked up five points as the Eagles extended their lead to 20-14, adding a pair of aces by Peyton Freeman and Woolums to close the set and get the win 25-15.

Danae Cline, Chlara Pistelli, Lilah Holderfield and Freeman kept digging kill shots and chasing down shots as Riverton Parke kept attacking. The Eagles forced several rallies with Joscelyn Pilcher able to finish off several of the rallies with a variety of shots.

“We got to a lot of balls and did a good job of forcing them to work for things,” Houser said as the Eagles were able to take the 2-0 lead with a 25-18 victory.

The Panthers turned a 12-12 tie in the third set into a 25-15 victory as they relentlessly attacked and outscored the Eagles 13-3 over the last part of the set.

“We let it slip away there in the third set. We could not maintain what we needed to,” Houser said.

The fourth set was a tight game as the Eagles and the Panthers were tied at 20-20, but a net error and a pair of aces by McKenzie Nowicki allowed Riverton Parke to tie the match at 2-2 with a 25-20 win.

The grind of the match caught up with the Eagles in the fifth set. South Putnam had an early 3-1 lead, but Riverton Parke’s Annie Campbell got opportunities from the left side of the court and picked up three kills, while Nowicki closed the game with a pair of aces and a 15-7 win.

“We had some solid serve and receive rotations, but we were not as aggressive as I would like later in the game. We were not fully healthy with some colds and sickness and just could not keep it up,” Houser said.