Columbus North’s Elaina Penrod (2) and Lexi Denny (12) block at the net against Columbus East’s Chloe Gill during Thursday’s match in the Orange Pit at Columbus East High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Prior to last season, Columbus North had beaten Columbus East in volleyball only three times in school history, and one of those was by forfeit.
Thursday night, the Bull Dogs went back-to-back for the first time against the Olympians with a 25-13, 25-21, 25-16 victory in The Orange Pit.
“It’s a great win,” said North senior middle hitter and Butler recruit Karen Dutro. “The rivalry game is just always so fun. There’s so many high emotions, and it’s very intense. So to come out and not only have a decisive game, but also play well and feel good about it, it means a whole lot. It’s just super fun to be able to do it with this group and these coaches and these girls who I love.”
The match was extra special for the Osborn sisters and their mother Jessica Robertson, who is an assistant coach at East. Senior libero Morgan Osborn’s Bull Dogs got the best of her sister, Olympians freshman setter Payten Osborn.
“It was fun,” said Morgan Osborn, an Indiana Wesleyan recruit. “We kept making faces at each other, trying to get each other to laugh, and we had a game face. We knew that it was strictly just for the game. It was just a fun atmosphere playing against each other. I really wish that we were closer in age. It’s just so fun.”
After North (17-10) cruised in the first set, East (10-17) came to life in the second. With the Bull Dogs leading 6-3, the Olympians got a sideout and seven consecutive points with Kenlee Gault at the service line to take an 11-6 lead.
East still led the second set 19-14 before North got a sideout and nine straight points off the serve of Sydni Schiefer to take a 24-19 lead. The Olympians got back to within 24-21 before the Bull Dogs closed it out.
“They definitely improved in that set with blocking and with our kills,” East coach Alison Eagleman said. “We just got stuck in serve-receive. We could not pass tonight, so it was a little frustrating. We definitely need to work on our serve-receive and our defense, and most importantly, we have to find a way to put that ball down.”
The third set was tied at 8-8 before North got a sideout and four straight points with Hannah Perry serving to go ahead 13-8. The Bull Dogs eventually closed out the match on a kill from Elaina Penrod.
“We knew coming into it that they were going to put up a fight,” Morgan Osborn said. “So we just found out where their weaknesses were.”
“I was very proud of how strong they came out in the first set, how they took charge,” North coach Sarah Stair added. “East is a great team, and I knew they would not give up that easily. So I fully expected them to come back roaring, and they did. They started to block our hitters a little bit better, and that was the biggest difference in that second set. But thankfully, we were able to pull it back together and come out on top in Set 3.”
Dutro recorded nine kills and one solo and three assist blocks, and Morgan Osborn had 14 digs and six aces to lead the Bull Dogs. Lexi Denny tallied 28 assists, Tania Maldonado had two solo and one assist block and Sydney Ousley added two solo blocks.
Also for North, Maldonado pounded eight kills, and Penrod added six kills. Kyndal Wheeler notched nine digs, Denny posted eight digs, Schiefer served three aces and Dutro added two aces.
“There were a few times where we hit some slumps, and we weren’t really able to get kills,” Dutro said. “But I thought we did a great job adapting, which is what we talked about before the game, so we did a great job.”
Gault recorded six assists, seven digs and one ace and Addy Dean had five kills and three blocks to lead the Olympians. Payten Osborn tallied six assists, Chloe Gill notched seven digs and Lilah Klei served one ace. Anika Jenkins posted four kills and two blocks, Klei had two blocks and Krea Martin added four digs.
East has two home games next week, a Tuesday battle with Madison and a Thursday matchup with Class 3A No. 2 Roncalli. The Bull Dogs have three home games next week, beginning with Tuesday’s battle with Bloomington South that could decide the Conference Indiana title and a Thursday battle with Franklin that will be a matchup of the top two teams in the Franklin sectional. The tournament draw will be Sunday evening.
“I’m excited,” Stair said. “I feel like we’re peaking at the right time, and I’m incredibly proud of my players and how hard they’ve played, how much work they’ve put in, how excited they are, the culture. It speaks for itself. We’re having a great year, and we’re having a lot of fun.”
