Cougars swept away by Trojans

North Putnam's Mackenzie Mason goes up for a kill during Tuesday night's match against Covington. The Trojans swept the Cougars on the night 25-21, 25-16, 25-13.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

BAINBRIDGE – Running on a six-match win streak, North Putnam took on a new addition to the schedule in Covington, the dominant force of the Wabash River Conference.

The Trojans quickly showed why they had won nine of the last 10 conference titles to the west with a 25-21, 25-16, 25-13 sweep of the Cougars Tuesday night.

“Covington is a great team and that’s why I wanted them on the schedule this year,” North Putnam head coach Jenny Heron said. “We failed to show up, which is a little bit frustrating.

“We had a lineup change with some illness but if we want to be a great team, we have to figure out how to work through those moments.”

Initial play was even between the two teams until Covington created a five-point gap in the opening set at 13-8, a gap that remained until North Putnam scored five of seven points to close to within two at 17-15.

A pair of missed attacks and a kill from Peyton Brown pushed the lead back out to four at 20-16 and though the Cougars moved back to within at 20-17 after an Alexa Stiff kill, the Trojans scored the next four points to make it 24-18 behind a block and kill from Maddix Minick.

The hosts briefly rallied but fell in the opener following a net violation.

Set two was even again early at 8-8 but Covington quickly blew things open by taking 10 of the next 12 points to make it 18-10.

The lead grew to 22-12 as North Putnam struggled to deal with the height and athleticism of the Trojans, constantly chasing the play rather than being able to set the tone.

“Covington did a good job of being scrappy and fundamentally sound,” Heron said about the visitors’ ability to dictate play. “I just don’t think we showed up in general as a team.

“All we can do is show up (Wednesday) and improve, which I think the girls will do after our locker room talk.”

Covington burst out to a 10-3 lead to start the third set before the Cougars rallied with four points in a row, including a tip from Lexi Daigle and Ashleigh Riley kill.

Another three-point run with a Riley point and block from Mackenzie Mason closed the gap to 14-12 before Covington slammed the door shut as a Minick kill started an 11-1 run to finish the night.