It was a match in which both teams looked to be in trouble at one point, but found a way to rally back. In arguably their biggest win since beginning KHSAA competition, the Heritage Christian Lady Warriors picked up a hard-earned home court five set win over the Caldwell County Lady Tigers Thursday night, 25-20, 25-12, 23-25, 21-25, 15-8.
The Lady Warriors picked up seven KHSAA wins last season but lost twice to Caldwell County.
It was a warm atmosphere from the beginning, partially due to a packed house when the match started and partially due to the fact the air conditioning in the HCA gym was not running at its best efficiency.
The first set was a tight battle early. With Caldwell County leading 10-9, the Lady Warriors ripped off ten in a row to take a 19-10 lead. The Lady Tigers would roar back to get within one at 21-20, but HCA would score the final four points to take the set 25-20. Mya Goodwin had a big first set with four kills to lead the way for Heritage.
The second set was all Lady Warriors. Heritage jumped out to a 7-2 lead and was never seriously threatened as they took the set 25-12. For the second set in a row, a big kill from Elle Heltsley ended the set for HCA. It was one of her three kills in the set.
The third set played out much like the first, until the end. Heritage, behind the play of Goodwin and Heltsley got out to a 16-11 lead, only to see Caldwell County battle back to tie it at 20-20. Then HCA scored three straight points and the Lady Tigers looked to be in deep, deep trouble.
But give Caldwell County maximum credit, just when they looked done, the match took a big turn. With Brylee Butts and Lily Hoard leading the way, the Lady Tigers scored the last five points of the set to close it out 25-23 and pull to within 2-1 in the match. Butts and Hoard each had three kills in the third.
The Lady Tigers would carry that momentum over into the fourth set. After Heritage took an early 7-4 lead in the set, Caldwell County charged back and took a 19-13 lead. They would go on to take the set 25-21. It was another big set for Lily Hoard and Brylee Butts.
At this point, it felt like the momentum was all on the side of the Lady Tigers and it was the Lady Warriors that were teetering on the brink. Add in the fact that HCA’s Mya Goodwin, who had been all over the court all night long, was battling cramps and was struggling to jump to attack the ball at the net, and it was starting to feel like the Lady Warriors were about to have one slip away from their grasp.
But this time, it was Heritage that found a way to fight back from the brink. The Lady Warriors opened the deciding fifth set by taking a 7-2 lead. That would be enough to get the momentum back for good as Heritage could close out the set and the match with a 15-8 win. With Goodwin struggling, Heltsley came up with two huge kills as the Lady Warriors were making their move to close out the match.
Goodwin would finish with 17 kills and 6 aces, while Heltsley added 13 kills of her own. HCA also had some key moments from Katie Cansler, Bailey Craft, and Cora Hale.
Ellie Ramey led Caldwell with 8 kills. Benashka Thomas and Lily Hoatd added six each. Caldwell County also had big minutes from Katie Menser.
