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SOUTHMONT VOLLEYBALL SECTIONAL: Cougars set up round three with Tiger Cubs after sweeping Wolves
NEW MARKET – While its girls’ soccer team didn’t have the happiest of hunting nights at Southmont Saturday, North Putnam’s volleyball team had a better time Tuesday night in the opening match of IHSAA Volleyball Class 2A Sectional No. 44 play.
The Cougars shot out to a near single-digit first set win over Parke Heritage and took back home a 25-11, 25-19, 25-16 sweep of the Wolves to set up a third and final meeting with Greencastle this year in the sectional semifinal.
“We played well for the most part,” North Putnam head coach Jenny Heron said. “We had some ups and downs but that’s volleyball in a broad view of things.
“We had a good mentality when things weren’t going our way and had ideas on how to fix things. I’m proud of the team effort in the win.”
North Putnam started the opening set with a 5-2 lead that Parke Heritage erased in tying the set at 5-5.
From there, the Cougars took nine of the next 10 points, shooting out to a 14-6 advantage that wasn’t tested the rest of the set.
A final six-point burst, including two aces from Mackenzie Mason, helped to quickly end the set 25-11 and slingshot North Putnam into set two, starting off with a 7-3 lead that grew to as large as 17-6 after four-straight Cougar points.
“It was a great start,” Heron said about the beginning of the match. “We ran a fast pace and came out with energy from the time school ended and we got off the bus.
“We tell the girls we just need to play Cougar volleyball and see where that takes us.”
Parke Heritage finally showed some fangs as Reaghan Benjamin had a pair of blocks and a point to halve the gap to 18-13.
A kill and point from Riley made it 21-14 before a four-point run from the Wolves trimmed the gap to 22-19 following a Benjamin kill.
The run finally ran out of steam, however, and three errors to finish the set allowed North Putnam to claim a 25-19 win.
“We didn’t necessarily take a break as much as Parke Heritage stepped it up in the second set,” Heron said about the Wolves’ rally. “They were a little more lively and started challenging us a bit at the net.
“Their passing started to get better and kudos to them for getting back into the game. We just needed to relax, understand both teams are trying to win the game and just play our game.”
A closer start to set three saw the Cougars finally create some space after taking a 6-5 lead, scoring seven of the next eight points to move ahead 13-6 with Benjamin exiting with an injury and unable to return.
North Putnam’s lead grew to 17-9 following a Mason block before back to back Reagan Ramsay blocks trimmed the gap to 17-13.
A pair of Addi Osburn aces stretched the lead back out to 20-14 and Riley finished the night with a kill to help the Cougars complete the sweep and move on to Saturday’s first semifinal where Greencastle awaits at 11 a.m.