Columbus North started out strong in its volleyball season opener Tuesday night, but the Bull Dogs couldn’t sustain the momentum they had built through much of the first set.
That allowed a Seymour team that already had a game under its belt to take control and post a 25-21, 25-15, 25-15 sweep in the head coaching debut of North’s Jenna Grider-Ortega.
“We played really well,” Grider-Ortega said. “For it being our first game and a whole new group, we actually had one of our main (defensive specialists, Emily Stair) out on quarantine. So honestly, I shouldn’t be too upset. They just got the best of us, and we couldn’t get back up from that.”
But the Bull Dogs jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set before balling behind 17-14. But with Paige Osbourne at the service line, they rallied to take an 18-17 advantage. The Owls then finished the first set on an 8-3 run.
Seymour jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the second set. North came back to within 11-9 before the Owls scored five in a row to pull away.
In the third set, Seymour ran out to leads of 5-0, 9-2 and 12-3 and never looked back.
“The first game, if we wouldn’t have had those few hitting errors and silly mental errors, we would have been great,” Grider-Ortega said. “Then, by that third game, I feel they were just down too much to really get back up. So we just have to work as a team and have more commitment and dedication toward each other and work from there.”
Sarah Bennett led the Bull Dogs with eight kills, five blocks and two aces. Reagan Kane recorded 10 assists, Sydney Cooper and Grace Chapman each notched five digs and Osbourne served two aces. Also for North, Logan Bransetter pounded five kills, and Kennedy Horn had two blocks.
Grider-Ortega said the Bull Dogs will have to improve defensively before Thursday’s game at Shelbyville.
“I would say it’s the coverage, getting our passes there, knowing where the ball is, knowing where each other are on the court, and communication,” Grider-Ortega said. “You cannot have enough communication, and I feel like that has to start off the court. If it’s not off the court, it’s not going to be on the court. It’s just mental things that we know that we can do, and we can do better.”
