NORTH VERNON
Showing fight.
Seymour’s volleyball team did that in all three sets of Saturday’s Class 4A Jennings County Sectional semifinal match against eighth-ranked Providence.
The Owls stayed even with the Pioneers through most of the first set, and then Providence broke a 17-all tie and maintained the lead.
Seymour fell behind 3-0 in the next two sets but didn’t give in. The Owls kept it close until Providence made a couple of short runs late in the second set to take a 2-0 match lead. Seymour rallied late in the third set to even the score twice and then pulled within one before Providence delivered the final knockout.
The Pioneers (20-6) won the match 25-21, 25-17, 25-22, ending Seymour’s season with a 16-16 record.
“We coach these girls to be mentally strong and physically strong. We coach strong women, and that’s what we wanted to see, and we did see that fight,” Owls coach Angie Lucas said.
She said her team showed guts by defeating New Albany in four sets in Thursday’s opening match and worked hard again Saturday.
“I’m proud of them,” Lucas said. “They gave everything that they have, and it’s just that team (Providence) is better than us, and we made too many unforced errors ourselves. And then we made some poor decisions offensively, and that hurt us.”
The first set was tied eight times before back-to-back kills by Maggie Connell and Alisha Busby gave Seymour a 14-11 lead.
Providence stayed steady and forced two more ties before a kill by power hitter Ali Hornung gave the Pioneers an 18-17 edge.
The Pioneers led 6-1 in the second set, forcing Lucas to call a timeout. The Owls regrouped and pulled within 9-8 on a kill by Lauren Knieriem.
Providence then pulled ahead by as many as seven points three times before settling for the eight-point win.
Seymour rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the third set on back-to-back aces by Connell. Providence, however, responded with five straight points, including a pair of kills by Hornung.
The Owls fell behind by as many as five points until it became a battle of the teams’ No. 12s, Providence’s Hornung and Seymour’s Olivia Fish.
Fish threw the first punch with consecutive kills to pull Seymour within 15-13, and Breanna Lawrence’s ensuing kill made it a one-point game.
Hornung responded with a pair of kills before a tip attempt went wide, making it 16-16. She then scored two of the next three points and stepped to the serving line to give her team a 21-17 lead.
Kills by Knieriem and Connell and a Providence attacking error fired up the Seymour fans, who saw their team pull within one point.
Coming out of a timeout, the Pioneers scored consecutive points and held off the Owls for the match win.
“They have a Purdue recruit in No. 12, the Hornung girl, and she’s awesome,” Lucas said. “We have kids that are going to be recruited, as well, but it’s just she’s a senior, and when you have that senior experience on your court, it makes a big difference, so we’re hoping to be there. That’s what we want in a year or two. We’re using this to build, and we’re going to get there one of these days.”
Fish was the Owls’ top hitter, going 37 of 39 with 14 kills, while Knieriem was 16 of 18 with four kills and Connell went 10 of 12 with five kills.
In serving, Connell was a perfect 13 of 13 with three aces, and Fish was 10 of 11 with the Owls’ other two aces.
Lemon finished with 24 assists, and Fish had 11 digs and Connell had six.
Seymour’s senior players are Connell and Knieriem.
“They meant a lot to our program,” Lucas said. “They’ve given everything that they have for us, and they are going to do great things in life because they are great kids and they come from great families who show great support to this program. We’re proud of them, and I know they are going to do great things later in life.
“I just want them to have the best life ever, and I’m going to be their biggest cheerleader right beside them,” she said. “That’s the kind of relationship we have.”
Lucas also praised senior manager Zach Thompson, who was always firing up the players and fans.
“You can’t replace Zach. You can’t replace any of (the seniors),” Lucas said. “I don’t know how we’re going to do it, to be honest. He gives more to this program than anybody has any idea. He loves it so much, and we love him.”