It wasn’t easy, and it required a pair of come-from-behind rallies, but the Christian County volleyball found a way to extend its winning streak over hosts Hopkinsville on Thursday with a hard-fought 3-0 victory.
The Lady Colonels won their seventh straight in the series while dropping only three sets, but the way Thursday’s contest unfolded will give Hopkinsville hope when the teams meet again in a week.
Leading by two points in the first set, the Lady Colonels closed on an 8-2 run, including three-straight kills by Skylar Kirby, to take the opener 25-17.
Neither team led by more than two points in the second until Rylee Owens’ ace put Christian County in front 12-9 and forced a Hoptown timeout. The Lady Tigers battled back to tie it at 14-14, and looked to be headed toward evening the match after Madysen Lawrence reeled off five aces in a row.
Hopkinsville led 23-18 after an ace by Kendra McMickens, but the Lady Colonels answered with a kill by Rylee Owens and scored the final six points to win 25-23.
The Lady Tigers looked rattled after the comeback and fell behind 4-0 to start the third but righted the ship to tie the set at 6-6. It was tied eight more times until Hoptown scored three in a row to lead 24-21. But the Lady Colonels again showed their experience, capping a 5-0 spurt with an Armstrong kill to close out the match.
Amy Toms had a pair of kills, six assists, and seven digs for the Lady Tigers, followed by Ajayla Shiraef with three kills, five blocks, and six digs. McMickens finished with seven digs and a pair of aces, and Lynette Nolan added three kills.
Christian County improved to 3-1, 2-1 in district play, with a visit from Webster County scheduled for Tuesday.
Hopkinsville fell to 1-2 in the district and will look to get back on track at Trigg County on Monday.
