Journey Blevins of North Union winds up to blast a hit past two Northridge blockers during the Division III Mount Vernon 2 district semifinal match in Ariel Arena at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. The Lady Cats lost 3-0 to end their season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
North Union’s volleyball team clawed its way back to the Ariel Arena at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, but the post-season trail has ended.
The Lady Cats have fallen in the Division III district semifinal match for the second consecutive year.
NU’s season came to an end on Thursday with a 3-0 victory over Johnstown Northridge.
Despite the loss, junior Journey Blevins reached the 1,000 kill mark for her career.
North Union head coach Peg Curts said she was happy to return to the arena, but wanted to get further in the tournament.
“It feels good to be here, but honestly if I can’t get past here, you now,” Curts said. “It is a great facility and everything. We had a goal to make it further, but we were just unable to do it.”
Set one was a back-and-forth battle between fourth-seeded Northridge and seventh-seeded North Union.
The Lady Cats took the early lead with the help of Journey Blevins on the attack.
However, the Nikings’ solid defense was able to keep the ball alive and work the score even at 12-12.
Curts said Northridge’s defense was something NU hadn’t seen this season.
“They were really scrappy and we haven’t faced anyone who can play great defense like that,” she said.
Blevins and Jordyn Hoffman helped the Cats pull a few points ahead, 15-13, with some solid blocking.
The Lady Vikings, however, took the late lead after several NU serving errors.
Kayla Sedgwick, North Union’s libero, kept Northridge close with a diving dig.
The Lady Cats’ front line used the momentum to pull even at 22-22.
Blevins, though, was called for playing into the net.
That gave Northridge the first set, 25-23.
Curts said the Vikings’ defense made it difficult for her Cats to find a bare spot on the floor.
“I think it came down to how they (Northridge) were picking up our serves and attacks,” she said. “It got into their heads that we couldn’t swing away.
“We weren’t finding open spots tonight like we typically have.”
The Lady Vikings came out strong with the first five points on the serve in set two.
North Union answered when Sydney Bacon picked up a point on a cross-court shot that narrowed NU’s deficit to 5-3.
The Lady Vikings pushed their lead back to five points and rode their early lead to a 25-20 victory.
Curts said her team had numerous errors in the second set, but kept swinging.
“We had some serving and hitting errors that hurt,” she said. “I told them to stay aggressive.”
The coach’s conversation between sets seemed to pay off in the early portion of set three.
The Lady Cats held a slim lead through the first half of the game.
A timeout from the Vikings’coach at the 15-15 mark changed the tide of momentum.
Northridge went up by a 17-15 edge, but NU had no answer to the shift in energy.
The Vikings completed their sweep with a 25-18 win.
Despite the loss, Curts said she was happy to see the team continue to play through the struggles.
Blevins picked up 13 kills to eclipse 1,000 for her career.
She will be one of many players who will be coming back to the program, as the Lady Cats will lose only four seniors.
“The future is looking bright,” Curts said. “It is always bitter sweet when you have to say goodbye to those seniors, but a lot of our team is going to be coming back next year and that is always a real positive.
“I’m just really proud with Journey (Blevins) for getting her 1,000th kill tonight and we have her all next season, too.”
North Union concluded its season with a record of 18-4.