Hornets fall to Hilltoppers

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EDINBURGH

A sectional title wasn’t in the cards for the Medora volleyball team.

Shawe Memorial (Madison) topped Medora 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 25-16 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of Class A Sectional 62, ending the Hornets’ season.

The teams stayed within one point of each other until a kill by Kailen Flynn, a pair of Shawe errors and an ace by Marsadeez Phillips put the Hornets up 11-6 early in the first set.

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That lead soon dissolved for Medora (10-12).

The Hilltoppers won five straight points on serves from Megan Hesse to cut the deficit to two.

Down 17-14, Kristen Snodgrass served up nine winning points for the Hilltoppers to give the team a 23-17 advantage. The Hornets scored just one more point before the set closed at 25-18.

Shawe took their momentum into the second set, winning the first four points, but the Hornets answered.

Errors by both sides, and four serves by Alli Carney, brought the Hornets within striking distance at 10-9.

An ace by Katie Beesley tied the match at 13-13 before a kill from Kelsey Turner put the Hornets back on top.

The Hornets never trailed the rest of the way, winning the second set 25-19.

In a gritty third set, the Hornets clawed back from an early deficit.

However, the Hornets couldn’t come up in the clutch.

Down 20-14, the Hornets won six straight points to tie the set at 20-20 and force a Shawe timeout.

Out of the break, the Hilltopers won five of the next seven points to take the third set 25-22.

Down 11-6 in the fourth set, the Hornets took a timeout.

While the Hornets claimed the next two points out of the break, they struggled to get momentum on their side.

Shawe won six straight points on serves from Snodgrass to go up 22-11.

With the sizeable lead, the Hilltoppers were able to close the match at 25-16.

Flynn led the Hornets with 11 kills, Beesley had three aces and Carney totaled five blocks and 11 assists.

“I didn’t think it was going to end this way,” Medora coach Sara Todd said. “I thought we would be here Saturday morning, but I guess it just wasn’t in the cards. I think we were moving our feet and blocking well; I just don’t think we made good choices.”

The Hornets will graduate five players of the eight on the roster — Phillips, Carney, Beesley, Lillian Hatfield and Emily Newby.

“When you have five seniors in any program it’s a big deal,” Todd said. “They’re good leaders and students. They’ve been a big asset to the program and will be missed next year.”

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