Lexi Denny
When Columbus North took Class 4A No. 10 Floyd Central to the brink in both sets of their match in Saturday’s New Albany Invitational, the Bull Dogs knew they could play with the Highlanders.
So when the two teams met again Wednesday at North, the Bull Dogs weren’t surprised when they won the first set. Unfortunately for them, however, Floyd Central recovered to post a 24-26, 25-20, 25-21, 25-20 victory.
“I thought we did a good job of executing a lot of parts of our game plan that we were practicing,” North senior middle hitter Karen Dutro said. “We just didn’t play quite as clean as we needed to be able to beat them, but I felt like overall, it was a good showing, and we were able to adapt from how we played on Saturday.”
The Bull Dogs (14-10) led most of the first set. The Highlanders (17-3) came back to take a 24-23 lead, but North got a sideout to tie it and Kyndal Wheeler served back-to-back points to give the Bull Dogs the set.
“We did win a set against Roncalli, and we beat Trinity (Lutheran) in a match 3-1,” North coach Sarah Stair said. “We were talking here on the sidelines, and we’ve had several where we felt like, ‘Man, that was one of the best we’ve played.’ I would say this ranks up there. I don’t know if it was the best set we’ve played, but certainly in the top handful of sets that we’ve played all year.”
After Floyd Central claimed the second set, the Bull Dogs took an 18-14 lead in the third. They still led 19-17 before the Highlanders (17-3) finished the set on an 8-2 run.
North jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the fourth set and still led 12-10 before Floyd Central seized the lead and went on to close out the match.
Lexi Denny led the Bull Dogs with 31 assists and three aces. Sydney Ousley pounded 13 kills, Sydni Schiefer had four block assists and Morgan Osborn notched 30 digs.
Also for North, Tania Maldonado pounded 11 kills, and Dutro added nine kills and three block assists, Osborn recorded four assists and two aces and Elaina Penrod had two assists and three block assists. Denny tallied 17 digs, Hannah Perry contributed 14 digs and Wheeler had 12 digs and two aces and Rori Pollert added 12 digs.
“These players have improved significantly this season,” Stair said. “They show heart and determination. They are enjoying playing a sport that they love, and playing as a team has made all the difference.”
