Caldwell County is one win away from returning to the 2nd Region volleyball championship match after sweeping three sets from Crittenden County on Tuesday in opening-round action.
The Lady Tigers dispatched the Lady Rockets 25-16, 25-18, 25-16 in Marion.
Caldwell will next face Webster County, which eliminated University Heights Academy in four sets Tuesday in Hopkinsville, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23.
The defending 2nd Region champion Lady Tigers trailed only briefly against 5th District champion Crittenden.
The Lady Rockets led 10-9 in the first set before Caldwell rolled off six straight points — five off the serve of Katie Menser — to go up 15-10. Crittenden got no closer than four points the rest of the set.
In the second set, Caldwell led 5-1 and 8-2 on the way to a 25-18 victory.
The Lady Tigers also ran out to an early lead in the third set, controlling play most of the way for a 25-16 triumph.
Mary Tays had 11 kills, 19 digs and a block to pace the Caldwell effort.
Savannah Scott had seven kills and a block while Adison Sullenger recorded 27 set assists, nine digs and three aces.
Menser finished with five kills, two digs and two aces while Lily Hoard had two kills and seven digs. Kynady Thomas added two kills and two blocks.
Maggy Griggs tallied 13 digs. Claire Knoth had five digs and Kyndra Winters added four digs.
It was Caldwell’s 26th-straight win over Crittenden. The Lady Tigers improved to 32-2 in the all-time series.
Caldwell is now 20-18 and has secured itself a winning season in 2021.
Crittenden, whose head coach Bayley McDonald was named 2nd Region Coach of the Year earlier Tuesday, finishes the season 15-11. McDonald is a former Lady Tiger standout and was an assistant coach at Caldwell before taking the Crittenden job.
Caldwell and Webster (18-15) will play the late semifinal game at 7:30 Wednesday. The two teams met Aug. 26 in Dixon with the Lady Tigers winning in five sets, 25-18, 18-25, 25-20, 8-25, 17-15.
Henderson County and Madisonville-North Hopkins will play in the first semifinal at 5:30 Wednesday.
The regional championship match is Thursday at 6:00.
