The Columbus North volleyball team showed no signs of rust after having a full week off when it took on Franklin Central Tuesday night.
When it looked like the Bull Dogs lost momentum after the third set, they gained it back to close out the match for a 29-27, 25-20, 15-25, 25-18 victory over the Flashes for their second win in a row.
“I was hoping that week off would give us that little extra time to rest and recover and then be ready to go. We were in Sets 1 and 2, and then lost it a bit in 3, but pulled it back together in 4,” North coach Quin Shoultz said. “I’m happy that we fought through it and finished it off.”
It felt more like a vengeance game for the Bull Dogs (5-9) after losing to Franklin Central (7-10) earlier in the season. Shoultz said that was one of the big motivating factors to not lose to the Flashes twice.
“We weren’t going to let that happen. I told them that they weren’t going to have that happen,” Shoultz said. “I said that we had to come out right off the bat and show them who was going to win this match, and they did.”
The teams played even early on in the first set, but then North established great execution on offense to burst out to a 17-9 lead. That lead might have been too comfortable since the Flashes came back with six straight point to cut it to 17-15 and eventually tie it at 19-19. Franklin Central scored two of the next three points to take the first lead in the set 21-20.
The Bull Dogs found themselves on the brink of losing the opening set trailing 23-21 but rallied for three straight points to lead 24-23. The Flashes tied it at 24-24. When the teams traded points to keep it tied at 27-27, Grace Chapman hit a short serve that hit the net and went over for the ace to give North the 28-27 lead. Logan Branstetter finished off the set for the Bull Dogs with a kill in the back portion of the court to give them a one-set lead.
The teams traded points early in the second set, but the Flashes built a 9-6 lead. North then found its rhythm and offensive attack to go on a 12-3 run to lead 18-12 and force a Franklin Central timeout. Following the timeout, the Bull Dogs extended the lead to 23-14, but it felt like déjà vu again for them when the Flashes rallied for five straight points to cut it to 23-19, forcing a North timeout. The Bull Dogs scored the next two points following the timeout to close out the set and take a two-set lead.
In the third set, Franklin Central came out with more intensity to jump out to a 9-4 lead. North came back to cut it to within 9-8, but then the Flashes took control by capturing eight of the next 10 points to extend the lead to 17-10, forcing a Bull Dog timeout. The timeout didn’t slow down Franklin Central’s momentum. The Flashes scored the next four points to lead 21-10. North scored the next four points, but then Franklin Central closed out the set scoring four of the next five points.
The Flashes took a 5-3 lead in the fourth set, but the Bull Dogs came back with five straight points to lead 8-3. Later in the set with the score 13-8 in North’s favor, Franklin Central scored four straight points to cut it to 13-12. The Bull Dogs then took command to go on a 10-3 run to lead 23-15 to close out the match.
Sarah Bennett and Madi Roop each pounded 12 kills, Reagan Kane recorded 38 assists, Madison White had seven blocks, Chapman notched 29 digs and Sydney Cooper served three aces to lead North.
Also for the Bull Dogs, White tallied 11 kills, and Logan Branstetter added eight kills. Kane posted 24 digs, Ava McKinney added 18 digs, Bennett had two blocks and Roop served two aces.
North was scheduled to host Jennings County on Thursday, but the match has been canceled because the Panthers are in quarantine.
