Divine shines, leads Tiger Cubs to win against motivated Cougars

Juniors Taylor Stoltey and Quinci Miller block an attack from North Putnam senior Madi Asbell (8) during Thursday's match. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

Greencastle's volleyball squad needed a win Thursday night over North Putnam to continue its quest for a West Central Conference crown.

The Cougars wanted a win to do the same, avenge the Putnam County Tournament loss and claim the Putnam County Pride.

The visitors got the start they wanted after sneaking past the Tiger Cubs in the opening set but instead of building on the win, Greencastle blasted past North Putnam in four sets 24-26, 25-16, 25-10 and 25-15.

Greencastle head coach Maggie Walters said the attack, after a slow first set, came alive in the last three sets.

"All of our hitters were on," Walters said. "Every single front row player put the ball away and that's why we won the last three sets by that many points."

The Cougars came into the match ready to meet the hosts blow for blow and the first set mirrored that mentality according to head coach Brandy Dickson

"I felt like our confidence level was up in the first game," Dickson said. "We worked hard on what we had to do against Greencastle and executed that by controlling the pace of the game."

Neither side had larger than a three point lead at any point in the opener. Greencastle led the majority of the match but, with a 24-22 lead, found the final point elusive as North Putnam grabbed the last four points to win 26-24.

The opening set win should have given the Cougars a lift heading into the next round according to Dickson.

"I hoped we would have that momentum carry over into the second set and challenged them by playing to our full potential. At times, I thought we really looked good but we just couldn't make things happen offensively.

"It then felt like we were in panic mode in the other three sets. We struggled to get any kind of offense going. Greencastle has talented hitters and they did a good job of challenging our blockers this game."

Greencastle attackers Jessica Lenihan, Olivia Divine and Quinci Miller gave the squad something it did not have in the opener Walters said.

"We told them in between sets that if they didn't step it up and bring their energy level up then every single game was going to be close," Walters said. "Their energy completely changed the second set and they kept it up for the rest of the match."

Divine led the squad with 20 kills, followed by 13 from Lenihan, 10 from Miller and eight from Allison White. Miller also added six blocks, while Danielle Thomas had 15 digs and Taylor Stoltey provided 44 assists.

Dickson said the squad would have to move past the match quickly with Fountain Central on Monday and start gearing up for sectional play.

"We don't have a lot of time with Homecoming tomorrow night but I think we'll be ready to play Monday night," Dickson said. "The break might do our team some good. I know we'll be ready to play Fountain Central and the games after that will help prepare us for sectionals."

Greencastle, meanwhile, has a chance to claim the WCC crown if the squad can win its final two matches, including a crucial clash with Cascade Wednesday.

Walters said the squad had to be ready from the start but that the group was ready to go.

"We have to work on keeping our energy up," Walters said. "When we play teams that have a lot of energy, we sometimes get down. If we keep the energy levels up, we can play like we did tonight.

"They can't wait to play Cascade. They want to win conference more than anything right now. They are excited for that game and they are ready to go out and win the conference."

At Greencastle
North Putnam........26 16 10 15
Greencastle...........24 25 25 25