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Cougars win topsy-turvy thriller over Eagles
BAINBRIDGE – The opening act of the battle between North and South came on the volleyball court where North Putnam hosted South Putnam Thursday evening.
Had the match gone as the opening set did, the Cougars would have strolled out comfortable winners but as the series has shown, no such luck was remotely in store.
The Eagles instead took a 2-1 lead in the match before the hosts pulled themselves together, took a tight fourth set and managed to keep it together to avoid tossing aside a seven-point lead in set five to win 25-12, 20-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13.
“We started off hot Thursday in set one and proved the type of team we can be,” North Putnam head coach Jenny Heron said. “When it comes down to set five, it’s always a race to 15.
“We struggled with nerves and serve receive in later sets, making it a lot closer than what the game projected early on.”
Just what happened after the opening set was hard to determine as North Putnam turned a 7-5 lead into a 14-5 advantage with one run before growing the lead to as large as 15 at 23-8.
A few extra points went to South Putnam toward the end but hardly anything for the hosts to look concerned about until facing a 5-1 deficit to start the second set.
The Cougars pulled to within one at 8-7 and 11-10 but a six-point swing made it 17-10 and after a quick yo-yo the lead reached its largest at 23-15.
A few errors kept the Eagles from taking the set cleanly but a late tip from Taylor Hartley broke a four-point run for the home team and the set soon belonged to the visitors.
Another good start to the third set saw South Putnam start with an 11-6 advantage following a Kelsey Custis point to finish off a long rally.
North Putnam closed the gap to 13-10 off a Kylie Rust kill but the gap soon ballooned to nine at 19-10 after a Hartley kill.
Trailing 21-13, the Cougars made their move with three Saylor Carrell kills and two aces from Ashleigh Riley helping make up a seven-point swing that closed the gap to 21-20.
Peyton Freeman found a kill to end the run, and two late serves into the net allowed the Eagles to claim the third set and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The hosts started off the fourth set with an early lead but a 6-4 advantage turned into a 10-7 deficit after a few errors.
Unlike other mid-set leads that blossomed, both schools slugged it out across the middle of the set with the game tying up five times before North Putnam took a 19-18 lead off a Carrell kill.
A point each from Carrell and Lexi Daigle, a Riley ace and a kill from Phoebe Fouts made it 24-20 and despite some nerves after a hit into the net and a Freeman kill, Riley finished off the set to set up a decisive fifth set, the third meeting in a row needing the maximum amount of time on the court.
Despite Custis getting the first kill, North Putnam reeled off the next seven points off a Fouts kill, a Riley point and block, a Rust kill and two aces from Alexa Stiff.
Olivia Woolums finally broke the rally and a pair of Cougar errors allowed the gap to be halved at 7-4 but the hosts buckled down at 9-6 as Riley got a kill while Stiff added a point and kill to make it 13-6.
South Putnam made a finally stand as Emma Jeter notched a kill and Joscelyn Pilcher notched an ace.
The Eagles kept things alive long enough for North Putnam to make mistakes as well, closing the seven-point gap to one at 13-12.
A block from Stiff finally put the Cougars on match point and while Carrell went long on the first chance, Rust, the hosts’ sole senior, powered through the final kill needed to finish the match.
Both teams return to WIC action after the Labor Day break as North Putnam travels to West Vigo Sept. 6 and South Putnam hosts Owen Valley Sept. 7.
“This coming week will be a great test for us and another opportunity to prove what I know we can do,” Heron said. Tuesday we’re on the road for a conference game at West Vigo and Thursday we’re on the road at Parke Heritage playing a sectional opponent.”