Columbus East had all the momentum on its side after winning the fourth set Saturday, but the Olympians couldn’t sustain in the fifth and deciding set.
Jeffersonville regrouped after East rolled in the fourth set to capture a tight fifth set and spoil the Olympians’ home opener with a 17-25, 25-18, 25-22, 13-25, 15-13 Hoosier Hills Conference win.
The Red Devils broke a 5-5 tie in the final set with three consecutive points and led 11-7 and 14-11. East came back to within 14-13 on back-to-back kills by Allison Mack, but Jeffersonville came back with a kill to claim the match.
“I felt like we had a lot of unforced errors in that fifth set,” East coach Stacie Pagnard said. “It was the first time we’ve been pushed to a fifth set, and we have to learn to compete when it comes to crunch time and fight back. I think that’s what we’ll talk about in practice — how to be the aggressor in those situations and not be the one getting attacked all the time.”
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After winning the opening set, the Olympians (1-1, 0-1) led 12-11 in the second before the Red Devils came back to win that set. East led 14-10 in the third set, but again, Jeffersonville fought back to take a two sets-to-one lead.
The Red Devils jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth set before the Olympians recovered to go up 10-6. East led 14-10 when it got a sideout, and Ashlyn Bergman served five consecutive points for a 20-10 lead.
Madyson Foster led the Olympians with 59 assists and three aces. Mack pounded 20 kills, Reece Whitehead notched 19 digs and CJ Clausen, Rilee Jessee and Regann Jessee all had three blocks.
Clausen also totaled 16 kills, while Regann Jessee added 11 kills. Bergman had 16 digs, and Mack added 15 digs.
Pagnard said her team did not play as well as it did in Tuesday’s season-opening three-set win at Bloomington North.
“We’ve been trying to implement some new offensive things, and it was just learning roles and learning new responsibilities,” Pagnard said. “I think we did some nice things. Early in the season, you’re going to see where you struggle, and I think that gives us something good to hammer home at practice.”
