Two First Region volleyball contenders faced off Thursday evening, as the 8-0 McCracken County Lady Mustangs traveled across town to face the 14-1 Community Christian Academy Lady Warriors. The first of two meetings this season between the Second District powerhouses, the Lady Mustangs came into the matchup looking to stay perfect on the year, while CCA aimed to bounce back following their first loss of the season against Ballard Memorial on Tuesday. However, the Lady Warriors were unable to rebound, as the Lady Mustangs dominated over three sets, sweeping the match 3-0 with 25-8, 25-11, and 25-15 set wins, improving to 9-0 on the season.
“We’re pleased with how tonight went, we’d been working on some new things in practice, and tonight was our first chance to put a lot of new ideas in at game speed and it worked out,” McCracken County head coach Chancie Coleman. “Games like this are great for preparing us heading into tournaments, and we’re hoping to see it carry over going forward.”
Seniors led the way for the Lady Mustangs, as Addison Hart and Elizabeth Gilbert each recording 10 kills, with Hart racking up seven aces as well. Emily Hatfield contributed as well with six kills, while Reagan Hill and Elli Streutker each recorded three.
Lauren Fugate was at the forefront of the Lady Warriors offense with her four kills, while Katie Truitt also played a key role for CCA, recording two kills alongside 11 digs.
To open the first set, Community Christian surged early, establishing a slight lead across the early rallies. However, the Mustangs quickly found their footing, leveling things back up in an instant, eventually taking the lead. On a run of serves from Taylor Dugan, the Lady Mustangs pulled further ahead, dominating on a stretch that saw the visitors force a timeout from CCA at a score of 13-5. Following the resumption of play, the Lady Mustangs stayed firmly on the front foot, controlling the rest of the set, which they went on to win 25-8 to take the first lead of the match.
Not allowing the Lady Warriors to sway any momentum early in the second set, the Lady Mustangs kept their foot on the gas, carrying over their steam from the previous set to build an early lead. Across the second set, McCracken never relented, outclassing the Lady Warriors to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a final set score of 25-11.
Showing some fight, CCA jumped out to an early lead in the third set, picking up four straight points to re-open play, eventually leading 5-1. However, McCracken quickly cut into the lead, storming back to tie things back up at seven points apiece, before taking control with an 8-7 lead. From there, the visitors took over, with a dominant stretch giving them a commanding 17-9 lead, forcing a timeout call from the Lady Warriors. Despite a late multi-point swing from CCA, the Lady Mustangs stayed on top through to the finish, where they collected a 25-15 win for the decisive third set victory, sweeping the night three sets to zero.
As mentioned, McCracken looks to stay unblemished on the year as they enter tournament play this weekend. Beginning Friday, the Lady Mustangs will take on Althoff Catholic of Belleville, Illinois, as well as Ozark, Missouri.
The Lady Warriors will look to get back on track when they return to action next Tuesday, when they play host to Marshall County.