Owls use quick start to defeat HHC rivals

Seymour’s volleyball team used a fast start against Bedford North Lawrence and a strong finish against Madison to pick up a pair of wins over Hoosier Hills Conference opponents on Saturday in the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.

The Owls opened up a 14-1 lead on the Stars in the first set on their way to winning the match 25-5, 25-12. They then held on to top the Cubs 25-21 in the first set before dominating the second set 25-7 to improve their record to 20-4.

“It was a very good day for us,” Owls coach Angie Lucas said. “I felt like we started off the day playing very, very well against Bedford. We really dominated that match, just played pretty much error-free.”

The Owls only missed three serves and had eight aces, and Chandler Clark was 20 for 20 with three aces.

Seymour had 28 kills. Hayden Dailey led with eight, and Abby Speer and Megan Kimbley had six apiece.

“Against Madison, we were not quite as sharp in the first game,” Lucas said. “We had a few errors that cost us. But then we changed it around and picked tempo up and did much better blocking and passing in game two, and we were able to beat them.”

The Owls were 46 for 47 in serving with five aces against the Cubs, and Jessica Lucas was 9 for 9 with four aces. Dailey had six of the Owls’ 17 kills. Lucas finished with 38 assists for the day.

Seymour will now prepare for Tuesday’s home match against county rival Brownstown Central. The Owls are ranked 10th in Class 4A, and the Braves fourth in Class 3A.

“We’re looking forward to that match,” Lucas said. “We know it’s going to be a good, competitive match like we had with New Albany on Thursday. We feel like we’re playing with a lot of confidence right now. I think the girls remember what happened last year when we went to Brownstown and lost in five. It wasn’t a good feeling, and we don’t want to do that again. I think you’ll see a different group that will come out very focused and ready to play on Tuesday.”