BROWNSTOWN
Just get better.
That’s all the Brownstown Central Brave volleyball team cares about this early in the season according to coach Jennifer Shade.
On Saturday the Braves got a lot better, going 4-0 in their invite and defeating Mid-Southern Conference (MSC) rival Silver Creek 2-0 (25-18, 25-21) to take home the invite’s crown.
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The Dragons have always been one of the Braves’ chief rivals, both in league play and in the postseason. Even though the game didn’t count towards their conference record, winning the match still meant a little something to Shade’s girls.
"Over the years, they have been able to beat us in some games," Shade said. "So, yes, that rivalry always comes out when we play them and it always give us a little more drive to play a little bit better and to win."
Brownstown Central and Silver Creek are no longer in the same sectional but they’ll still meet in two weeks in, what could be, a crucial MSC matchup.
So far this season, the Braves haven’t been pushed too hard in many of their matches. Prior to Saturday’s tournament, they had only played more than three sets with one team. Floyd Central last week.
Against both Silver Creek and East Central, the Braves had to work for their wins. In the championship match with the Dragons, the Braves were down 11-6 early in the second set before rallying to get the win.
Shade appreciates the tougher competition and knows it’s what her girls need if they want to continue to improve.
"It takes competition to find out where your weaknesses are," she said. "Every time we play, we want to get better and I’m starting to see that in every game."
In addition to the Dragons, the Braves swept East Central (25-17, 25-19), Covenant Christian (25-9, 25-13) and Cardinal Ritter (25-8, 25-6). Addie Wilkerson led the Braves with 26 kills on 49-for-54 hitting with Keeli Darlage adding 23 kills off of 56 of 66 hitting. Kendra McCory and Kayla Guthrie had 16 and seven kills, respectively.
Reagan and Riley Nuss led the Braves in the serving department, each going perfect for a combined five aces. Riley was 38 of 38 with four aces while Reagan was 16-for-16 with an ace. Darlage also had three aces for the Braves’ cause.
Owls finish tough week on a high note
It had been a trying week for the Seymour volleyball team playing away from the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium all last week.
In a tough pool with Silver Creek, Bloomington South and Trinity Lutheran, the Owls came up winless but finished the day strong with a 2-1 (19-25, 25-12, 15-7) win over Covenant Christian.
Freshman Olivia Fish led the Owls with 51 kills off of 119-for-132 hitting while Maggie Connell and Chloe Criswell added 18 and eight kills, respectively. Fish was also the top server for Seymour, going 32 of 35 with two aces. Sophia Stahl and Connell combined for five aces. Stahl also had 70 assists on the day while libero Hayley Harpe had 28 digs.
Cougars break even
Trinity Lutheran started the Brownstown Central invite with a strong 2-0 (26-24, 25-12) win over city rival Seymour but dropped their next two in pool play to Bloomington South and Silver Creek.
The Cougars battled tough with both the Panthers and Dragons but came up just a little bit short. However, they were able to bounce back with a convincing win 2-0 (25-18, 25-21) to finish their day strong.
Hannah Sabotin had 39 kills to lead the Cougars and was 84-for-92 on hitting attempts. She also had 10 blocks. Sydney Jaynes added 17 kills while Bailey Tabeling had 15. Bailey Reynolds was near-perfect with her serves, going 39 of 40, with five aces. Kennedy Hoffman and two aces on 31-for-33 serving.
Up next
It’ll be a busy week for BC, Seymour and Trinity Lutheran this week. The Owls host Hoosier Hills Conference rivals Floyd Central on Tuesday and Jennings County on Thursday before heading to Avon on Saturday.
The Braves will see Bloomington South on Tuesday and host New Albany on Thursday before heading to the Providence Invite on Saturday.
Trinity Lutheran will take on South Ripley Tuesday and travel to the Christian Academy of Indiana on Thursday. They’ll head to the Barr-Reeve Invite on Saturday.