SOUTHMONT VOLLEYBALL SECTIONAL: Tiger Cubs oust Cougars to reach sectional final

NEW MARKET – Greencastle had lost two close matches to county rival, North Putnam, earlier in the season.

The Tiger Cubs got some revenge against the Cougars in the semifinal contest of IHSAA Volleyball Class 2A Sectional No. 44. The Cubs were difficult to beat on this day as they defeated the Cougars 25-21, 25-14, 18-25, 25-15 to advance to the championship game.

“Be determined. Be driven and disciplined. Be hard to beat. That was the focus of what we wanted to come in here with. North Putnam is a really good team,” Greencastle head coach Denise Meyer said.

Greencastle took the advantage from behind the service line in this contest. The Cubs had 21 aces to just seven service errors, while the Cougars had 12 errors and five aces. That difference was key as Greencastle improved to 18-14, while North closed its season at 21-10.

“They are a great service team. They definitely threw us out of system at times,” North Putnam head coach Jenny Heron said.

Greencastle jumped out to a big lead in the first set, gaining a 10-1 advantage behind Allie Landry’s four-straight aces and Kylee Owens delivering three early kills.

The Cougars would chip away at that advantage, closing within 22-20 on a Saylor Carrell kill, but a service error on North and a big Makenzie Creviston closed the set at a 25-21 advantage Greencastle.

“Kylee (Owens) was so good. It is hard to be flawless. We told her to find a way, she did that today,” Meyer said.

The Cubs broke open a close second set by turning a 6-6 score into a 16-8 advantage behind net play from Creviston and Madi Plew. The Cubs would finish off the Cougars as Creviston would pick up a couple more kills and a block, setting up Meilani York’s set-winning ace to go up 2-0 with a 25-14 win.

“Makenzie affected three or four points in the run. Meilani with her serving. Really it was everybody, Allie (Landry), Maddy (Landry) just all of them,” Meyer said.

As expected, North Putnam would not go quietly. The Cougars bolted out to a 6-1 lead in the third set as Ashleigh Riley had three points and Phoebe Fouts had a big block. The kills, combined with a pair of aces from Callee Riggle, extended the lead to 15-4.

Greencastle would rally, scoring eight-straight points, but North would repel each run with Riley getting a pair of kills and Hailee Daigle finishing the set with a kill. The Cougars were able to mostly eliminate their service errors in the set and that allowed them to pick up the win, 25-18.

“We did some things well, we just were not able to give ourselves enough opportunities to make plays except for the third set,” Heron said.

Meyer noted she was nervous as the Cougars had come from behind in both of their earlier wins against the Cubs. “Set three started to look familiar as to some of the other games. We had to reset,” Meyer said.

North Putnam started out the fourth set strongly as it got an ace from Alexa Stiff to go up 6-1 but could not maintain the lead as Keely Amis brought it from behind the line and at the net to lead a 9-2 run and a 10-8 lead.

The Cougars would tie the score at 13-13, but that was as close as it would get and Greencastle closed the set to win 25-15 and advance to the finals.

“Those eight seniors fought hard. Sometimes it’s not your day, but I am really proud of this team. When we play Greencastle, we know we are going to see their best,” Heron said.