Hosting its second IHSAA new opponent in as many nights, Columbus Christian looked to bounce back from Monday’s three-set loss to Hauser.
Aside from a second-set slip, the Crusaders came back with a vengeance on Tuesday. They celebrated senior night with a 25-18, 21-25, 25-12, 25-15 win against Edinburgh.
"I think overall tonight, we did way better than we did (Monday) night with talking and moving our feet," Columbus Christian senior Ellie Ridder said. "We communicated better tonight, we were more focused and we had more energy. We kept each others’ energy up."
Ridder was one of three seniors honored prior to the match. She was joined by Lauren Hunnicutt and Ann Marie Gandy.
Hunnicutt led the Crusaders (14-3) with 16 kills and eight blocks.
"We had better communication, and we worked better together (than on Monday)," Hunnicutt said. "We had better attitudes, and we had a lot more fun. We were definitely more into the game."
Columbus Christian jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the first set behind the serving of Madison Henderson and Hannah Stair. The Crusaders closed the set on an ace from Hunnicutt.
"They came out strong tonight, specifically Lauren and Madison," Columbus Christian coach Sarah Stair said. "Lauren played great at the net. I appreciated their tenacity to come back fighting tonight."
The Lancers (4-15) came to life in the second set. Emily Chappelow served them to a 4-0 lead. Columbus Christian came back to within 22-20 and 23-21, but Edinburgh got a sideout and an ace from Callie Hancock to even the match at a set apiece.
Hunnicutt served the Crusaders to a 4-0 lead in the third set. The Lancers were within 12-9, but Henderson, Hannah Stair and Hunnicutt served a closing 13-3 run, capped by another ace from Hunnicutt.
The fourth set was close until Columbus Christian stretched a 17-14 lead to 22-14 and went on to close out the match.
"I thought we played OK," Edinburgh coach Kilah Dickey said. "I was a little disappointed because I thought we had a fair matchup tonight, which we haven’t had in the past few games. We’ve been playing some tougher teams that are a lot better than we are. I feel like we should have won tonight, and we didn’t."
Hannah Stair recorded 31 assists, Kayla Jones tallied 11 digs and Henderson served seven aces for the Crusaders. Henderson also added 12 kills and a block, Ridder pounded seven kills, Hannah Stair and Jones each served four aces, Emily Stair had two kills and two assists and Gandy notched two kills.
Chappelow led the Lancers with five kills, two blocks and two aces, while Gracie Crawhorn had six digs. Kaylee Swallows pounded four kills, Carly Cowan and Paige Burton each added three kills and Hancock tallied one block and three digs.
Edinburgh has been playing without starters Gracie Myers and Shelby Graham. The Lancers used only six players for most of Tuesday’s match, with a seventh playing in one set.
"We have injuries going on and lots of different things that are affecting our team that are hurting us numbers-wise, and that’s really affecting how we’re playing," Dickey said. "With the injuries and them being out, that really hurts us."
