SEYMOUR — In their final home match of their careers, the Seymour volleyball seniors wouldn’t be denied a victory against visiting Columbus North.
Despite a slow start, the Owls held home court in an 18-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-18 victory against the Bull Dogs.
In the first set, North was able to to build an early 6-2 lead that was capped by a kill from junior middle hitter Imani Guy. The Bull Dogs wouldn’t trail at any point in the set, and Guy came up with the set-winning block at 25-18.
“We started out with a lot of intensity and were being really aggressive,” North coach Caitie Greiner said. “As we went on into Games 2, 3 and 4, we just had a few more unforced errors than we’d like to see. We got a little timid and started swinging a little less aggressive, and no one seemed to be really putting the ball away for us.”
At 4-4 in the second set, Seymour (15-11) lost season leading-hitter Emilee Pollmann to an ankle injury. Both squads traded points until the Owls built a 14-10 lead off multiple unforced errors by the Bull Dogs (10-21). Junior Addie Rudge served five straight winning points before Seymour tied the set with a 25-15 win.
“In Set 1, we switched up our lineup a little bit to allow all our seniors to start,” Seymour coach Holly Birdsong said. “We only put one person out of position, but it was enough to throw them off. I don’t think we were ready when the game started. I think as the game went on, we got more confident and talking better as a team.
“Once they get their confidence, they do great things together as a team,” she said. “Its been the same thing all season with the ups and downs.”
North built a 10-5 lead in the third set off back-to-back aces from Mackenzie Rooks. The Owls climbed back to tie the set at 10-10 until winning 10 straight points behind serves from senior Lauren Fleetwood.
In the final set, the teams traded points. With the score tied at 18, Seymour was able to distance itself and come away with the win by winning the final seven points of the match.
Senior Avery Wendel led the Bull Dogs with seven kills, while junior Maliah Howard-Bass finished with five. Senior Grace Sonderman finished with a team-high 13 digs.
North is off until Oct. 22, when it faces Bloomington North in the first round of the Class 4A Shelbyville Sectional.
“We’ve got to prepare for that and just move forward,” Greiner said. “We have a week of hard practicing ahead of us.”
