The Grayson County Lady Cougar Volleyball team took over late in each of the three sets to cruise to a 3-0 victory over Edmonson County in the 12th District Volleyball Semifinals.
The Lady Cougars jumped out to an early 5-2 lead after a kill from Olivia Lucas and a block from Ella Robinson and Brieanna Boll. The Lady Cats fought back to bring the set to within one point at 11-10 which forced Grayson County head coach Rebecca Meredith to use a timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Lady Cougars took over scoring 14 straight points to close out the set and give them a 25-10 win in the first set. During the run, Chloe Cox served five aces and Ella Robinson added multiple kills to complete a dominating turn for Grayson County.
The second set proved to be a tougher challenge, but had a strong start as the first two points, capped by a Bailey Richardson ace, let the Lady Cougars score 16 straight points between the two sets. After going on another run, Edmonson County was forced to call a timeout after finding themselves with a 9-5 deficit. After the minute clock ran out, Lucas found an empty spot on the court for another serving ace for Grayson County.
The Lady Cats were able to find an answer as they ended the streak with a three point run themselves. The set went back and forth again with the match being tied at 16-16, 18-18, 19-19 and 20-20 before Robinson had a big kill that sparked the offense. Behind a kill from Cox and solid hitting, the Lady Cougars scored the final 5 points on the set to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Edmonson County found only their second lead of the match after winning the first point of the third set, but Robinson and junior Alexis Hart took over with two kills and an ace respectively. That gave Grayson County a 9-4 lead, but for one of the first times the entire match, the Lady Cats had a big answer for the run. Junior Rachel Cowles served four points in a row including two aces to tie the match up at 10-10.
Like the previous two sets, whenever the Lady Cats seemed to get any sense of momentum, Grayson County stepped up to make big plays, this time bringing the lead to 15-12. Edmonson County fought back to bring the third set to within one at 17-16, but Rebecca Meredith put the trust in her team to close out the match.
Close out the match is exactly what they did. The Lady Cougars scored the final 9 points of the match to take the set, and game, by a score of 25-16. During the run, senior Olivia Lucas had 2 digs, which forced an Edmonson County timeout. After the break, it was sophomore Brieanna Boll who served an ace that helped finish off the win for Grayson County.
With the win, the Lady Cougars improved to 20-6 on the season and advanced to next week’s Region 3 tournament at Muhlenberg County. They will also play tonight against Whitesville Trinity for the 12th District championship. The teams split their previous two meetings of the season with each team winning on their own home court. The most recent matchup was on September 27th. For a recap of that game, please click here.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
