Cougars tripped up by Patriots in five sets

BAINBRIDGE — The North Putnam Cougars entertained the Owen Valley Patriots on Thursday night in Western Indiana Conference volleyball game. The entertainment value of the contest far exceeded the ticket prices as the Patriots were able to edge the Cougars 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 15-13 in exciting, but error-filled volleyball.

Both teams struggled at times with any consistency and could not get long runs put together as service errors and mistakes were prevalent, but intensity and excitement was evident throughout the match as the Cougars dropped to 2-6, 0-1 in the conference play, while Owen Valley improved to 1-6 and 1-0 in WIC play.

“This was definitely a tough one to lose. Owen Valley is a tough team, and they are gritty, but we just didn’t show up tonight. That is on players, coaches, everyone,” North Putnam head coach Jenny Heron said after the tough loss.

The first set had both teams struggling with service errors as neither team was able to build more than a three-point cushion at any time. The teams combined for 11 service errors in the set. Mack Mason had a pair of aces, while Melanie Davies led the Cougar attack at the net with two kills, but eventually the Patriots scored their last two points on a service error and an ace to take a 1-0 lead with the 25-23 win.

The Cougars rallied in the second set. North jumped out to an early 6-2 lead and expanded it to 17-8 at one point behind a Hailee Daigle dink and a Mason back row kill. The Patriots rallied and cut the lead to 21-19 before Mason picked up a pair of kills late in the match to spur a 25-21 victory and tie the match at 1-1.

True to form in this back-and-forth contest, Owen Valley took the third set 25-18. The Patriots used a 7-1 run early in the match to extend the lead to 10-4 and eventually would get to an 18-10 lead. A small Cougar rally cut the lead to 18-14 before back-to-back kills by Owen Valley’s Abree Wells put the game at 21-14 and the Patriots would hold on to win 25-18 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Owen Valley took control early in the fourth set. The Patriots led 6-2, but a kill Maylee Mason and an ace by Daigle kept the Cougars in the game. Owen Valley had a four-point lead at 11-7, then the Cougars began to claw their way back into it.

The serve giveth and the serve taketh away as North had struggled with service errors most of the match, but Daigle served three straight aces to turn a 16-14 deficit into a 17-16 lead and then never trailed as a point by Tori Detro and a dink by Mason closed the set with the Cougars on top 25-20. This set up a deciding fifth set.

“Serving has been an issue all year for our team. It is something we know and continue to work on. It is something we need to fix as soon as yesterday. Serving will be a focal point going forward,” Heron said.

The Patriots took advantage of a few errors by the Cougars and turned a 5-4 Cougar lead into a 9-6 Patriot advantage. Unfortunately for North Putnam, it never regained the lead, despite rallying to tie the score at 13-all behind a pair of Mason back row kills. The Patriots made some excellent saves during a rally that put them up 14-13 and then closed the game out 15-13 and the win 3-2 for their first victory.

“I definitely liked the way we responded at times. We were tough, but eventually it comes down to execution and that is something we are going to be working on,” Heron said.