Grace Brandt of North Union tips a 50-50 ball over the net as an East Knox player attempts to block it. Brandt tallied two kills and a block to help the Wildcats sweep East Knox, 3-0.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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North Union’s season-long volleyball mission continued on Tuesday evening.
The Lady Cats recently won their first league title in school history and have not lost a game since Sept. 27, when they fell to the team they share a Central Buckeye Conference title with, Benjamin Logan.
That winning spirit continued on Tuesday when the No. 9 Lady Cats opened their Division III post- season with a 3-0 sweep of 15th seeded East Knox.
“I felt like the girls came out with a mission,” said North Union assistant coach Allison Turney. “They knew they wanted to win this match and made sure that they accomplished that mission.
“They weren’t giving up and I think they really put their foot on the gas pedal and didn’t stop until the final whistle.”
The mission, which included a CBC title, was simple… keep the season alive.
NU had a first-set battle on its hands to accomplish that goal. The Lady Bulldogs kept the set tight by keeping North Union’s hitters under control with blocking and nice defensive receiving of heavy hits from Journey Blevins and Lissie Michael.
That all started to shift late in the set when Kayla Sedgwick took serves for the Lady Cats.
She was able to give the Lady Cats their first real lead that transformed into a 25-18 set win.
Sedgwick continued her smooth serving during set two to give NU an early 6-0 lead.
East Knox tallied a point, but the markers continued to mount for North Union.
Blevins came up with strong hits, aided by Josie Duncan’s sets, as the Cats climbed to a 15-3 margin.
The Lady Bulldogs, possibly feeling the pressure of a season coming to a close, rallied their offense and closed the gap.
East Knox found some holes in NU’s defense to pull to within 23-17.
“I think the girls got comfortable, plus volleyball is such a momentum sport,” said Turney, who was subbing for absent head coach Peg Curts. “It is so easy once a team gets the momentum to ride with it.”
Even with the momentum switch, the Bulldogs couldn’t overcome their deficit as the Lady Cats took the set, 25-18.
Set three was an encore with the Lady Cats climbing to a 20-10 margin.
The Bulldogs, though, again rallied to make North Union fight for its season.
East Knox exposed NU’s defensive holes against at the net and clawed back to within 22-18.
Turney said even with the Bulldogs gaining the momentum at the end of the final two sets, her team had the focus to overcome the swing.
“One thing we have talked about is to make sure that we don’t let the other team get the momentum,” she said. “You don’t let them score three-to-five points in a row.
“You let them get one or two and then you stop it,” said Turney. “We may not have done the best job at that, but I still think the girls were able to stay focused, which allowed us to have control of the match for the entire time.”
That focus paid off as the Lady Cats took set three 25-19 for the sweep.
The Lady Cats will move deeper into the state tournament with a match at Madison-Plains at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Golden Eagles are mystery to North Union, but Turney says it doesn’t matter, if the Cats play their game.
“Really we don’t know much about them,” she said. “But I know if we go out there and play our game and our hitters are on and our defense is on, then it is going to be a good match.
“I know if we play our game, then it can definitely go in our favor.”
The sectional final match will start at 2:30 p.m. at Madison-Plains High School.