Brylee Butts blocked Henderson County’s hopes and finished off a wild win for Caldwell County in the opening round of the 2nd Region tournament.
Henderson seemingly had all the momentum after taking the third and fourth sets, then rolling out to a 5-1 lead in the short fifth set.
But with its season on the line, Caldwell battled back to tie things 7-7 on a Rylee Thompson kill, then went on to build an 11-8 advantage behind a 7-1 run.
It remained close until the end, but the Lady Tigers never trailed again, eventually escaping with a 25-18, 25-21, 24-26, 13-25, 15-13 triumph in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round matchup at Hopkinsville High School.
Butts had 11 kills and eight blocks, but none bigger than the last one that finally subdued the Lady Colonels and pushed the Lady Tigers into Wednesday’s semifinal round.
Caldwell (19-9) will face Heritage Christian Academy (22-5) in the late semifinal tilt at 7:00. The Lady Warriors moved on with a 25-18, 25-21, 25-16 win over Livingston Central on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s first semifinal at 5:30 will pit Union County (15-7) against Christian County (13-18).
Caldwell appeared to be headed to a less-stressful victory over Henderson when it took the first two sets 25-18, 25-21.
But Henderson pulled ahead midway through the third set and led 22-16. However, the Lady Tigers rallied and appeared to have the momentum back when they tied the set 24-24. The Lady Colonels claimed the next two points, though, to extend the match.
Henderson then rolled through the fourth set, and looked on the verge of finishing off a come-from-behind win when it ran out to the lead in the fifth set.
Caldwell got things turned around, though, to earn a spot in the semifinals.
Besides 11 kills and eight blocks, Butts added three digs for Caldwell.
Thompson had seven kills, a block, 11 digs and two aces while Benashka Thomas had five kills, a block and six digs.
Kylee White totaled 25 assists, along with a kill, two blocks and 10 digs. Mycah Riddle recorded 25 digs, a kill, an assist and two aces.
Chevy McGowan had three kills and seven digs. Morgan Aikins had 10 digs and an ace.
Medeline Thomas finished with a kill, five digs and an assist while Anna Giltz had six digs, two aces and an assist.
Maddie Cooper had five digs and an ace for Caldwell.
The Lady Tigers ended a three-match losing streak to Henderson. The Lady Colonels still lead the all-time series 24-13.
Caldwell and Henderson have combined for 15 2nd Region championships since the current alignment was established 21 years ago. The Lady Tigers, who have six of those, are looking for their first title since 2020.
