Livingston Central moved into the championship match of the 5th District Volleyball Tournament with a straight-set win over Trigg County on Tuesday in the semifinals. The Lady Cardinals took the three sets 25-16, 25-21, and 25-13.
Livingston never trailed in the first set, getting out to a 9-3 lead before Trigg County was able to battle back to cut the deficit to 10-7. However, strong play at the net by Victoria Joiner and Abigail Erickson kept the Lady Wildcats at bay and allowed Livingston to take the first set.
“I definitely think we started out a little nervous, but overall I got exactly what I needed. They were moving, they were talking and they were trying and that’s what I asked for,” coach Madison Rogers said of her Lady Wildcats. “I stress to the girls, that one pass makes a huge difference. And overall I really do think that they passed well tonight for what we started with at the beginning of the season.”
In the second set, Livingston went on a 12-2 run thanks to a pair of aces from Maggie Downey and a pair of kills from Joiner. Trigg would cut the deficit to one point on two more occasions, but five service errors in the set ultimately proved to be their Achilles heel as Livingston took the second set 25-21.
“We’ve needed to communicate better all season. We’ve struggled with that and I was looking for my seniors to step up and lead us through that and they did,” Livingston Central coach Lisa Corley said.
The third set was tied three times early before Livingston Central used a 16-5 run to take command. Joiner and Jocelynn Morganson each had six kills for the Lady Cardinals while Laken Davis and Erickson contributed five each.
Downey and Kaylee Williams each had 18 digs and Kaydence Smith had 21 assists for the Lady Cardinals who got their fifth win of the season.
Trigg County got five kills and two aces from Grace Carver and Mackenzie Gusgeski contributed five kills and two blocks for the Lady Wildcats (1-16).
Livingston Central advanced to the championship match for the sixth straight season where they fell to Crittenden County in straight sets. Both teams will move on to next week’s Second Region Tournament at Hopkinsville High School.
