BLOOMINGTON — Columbus North put up a fight against Bloomington South Saturday night, but the Panthers proved to be too much for the Bull Dogs in a 25-20, 25-12, 25-22 victory in the Bloomington South Sectional final.
In North’s afternoon semifinal game against East Central, the Trojans once again attempted to make a huge comeback as they did against Columbus East in Thursday’s opening round. But the Bull Dogs survived for a 25-19, 25-18, 24-26, 19-25, 15-13 win.
North had match point in the third set leading 24-21, but East Central rallied with five straight points. The Bull Dogs trailed 21-11 in the fourth set but scored eight of the next 10 points to cut it to 23-19. But the Trojans scored the final two points to force a fifth set.
In the deciding set, the score was tied 8-8 before North scored five of the next six points to lead 13-9, and eventually went win the match.
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“We just needed to play with some confidence,” North coach Caitie Greiner said. “When things got tight, especially in the third set, we started to play a bit more timid. We weren’t taking big swings like we’ve had in the first two games. East Central is a very athletic team, and they capitalized off some of our unforced errors that are uncharacteristic for us. My girls focused in and executed the game plan well.”
Maddy Sebahar set a school record for digs in a match with 45 and also added an ace. Emma Tynan recorded 18 kills, 40 digs and an ace. Lily Meyercord finished with six kills, 46 assists, 22 digs and two aces. Gabby Genth added nine kills and two blocks, and Agustina Fainguersch had seven kills and 31 digs.
“It’s exciting and I had no clue that I did it,” Sebahar said of her record. “It was a five-set game. It was crazy. It was a fun and good start to the day. It was a nice way to go out.”
In the final, Tynan pounded nine kills, Meyercord finished with four blocks and 17 assists, Sebahar had 18 digs, Fainguersch added eight digs and Sarah Bennett had four blocks.
Sebahar said she enjoyed her time with the program and playing alongside her teammates.
“I love this team with all my heart, and I would give them anything,” Sebahar said. “It’s been a great four years, and I give it all to the coaches and the girls because they are the best group of people and the best teammates that I’ve ever experienced in my life. I would give anything to get one more second of the game with them.”
Sebahar’s fellow senior captain, Meyercord, was pleased with how the season turned out, regardless of the outcome Saturday night.
“We grew a lot over the season, and we were all close to begin with,” Meyercord said. “I think as the season went on, we really meshed together. I’m happy with the girls. I know that we wanted a different outcome, but we played our hearts out, and that is all you could ask for.”
Seniors Sebahar, Meyercord, Agustina Fainguersch, Lauryn James, Andrea Corbeels and Sophie McKinney will be hard to replace for Greiner next season.
“Those underclassmen will have some big shoes to fill. They’ve done a great job and they have really helped with this program move in the direction that we want it to go,” said an emotional Greiner. “They will be missed greatly.”
