The Hopkinsville volleyball team lost 2 of 3 regular-season meetings with the Christian County Lady Colonels, including a 1-2 result at Smack Down just a couple of days ago. However, the Lady Tigers saved their best performance for when it counted most, topping the Lady Colonels 3-0 in the 8th District semifinals Tuesday night at Fort Campbell. Hoptown will enter Wednesday night’s title match with UHA at 9-23 overall, while the Lady Colonels end their season at 14-19.
Hopkinsville raced out to a 10-5 lead in the opening set, forcing a Lady Colonel timeout. A Hope Pace kill gave the Lady Tigers a 17-13 advantage, but County clawed back to a 19-19 tie. The Lady Colonels took their first lead of the night at 19-18 after an ace by Jaquavia Bailey, but Hoptown got back on top at 20-19, before closing the set on a 5-1 run for the 25-20 win.
The Lady Tigers maintained their momentum in the second set, with the Lady Colonels taking a timeout to stop a 4-0 run. A kill by Bailey tied it at 16-16, before the Lady Tigers erupted for an 8-0 run capped by a Hope Pace kill. A Chandler Adams dig found its way over the net and dropped to give Hoptown a 25-18 win.
An ace by Kelsey Mata put the Lady Tigers up 8-6 in the final set. They stretched the lead to 17-10, with the Lady Colonels never getting closer than 5 the rest of the way and falling 25-17.
Pace and Karalyn Beymer led the way for Hoptown with 10 kills and an ace each, followed by Sarah Cavanah with 7 kills, 4 aces and a block. Savannah Peck finished with 32 assists and an ace, and Shelby Isenhoff had 5 kills and a couple of blocks.
