Trigg County and Hopkins County Central entered Tuesday’s match as a pair of volleyball teams needing a win in the worst way, and they both played like it.
After Hopkins Central won the first two sets (25-16, 25-23), Trigg County answered by winning the next two (25-15, 25-22) before the Lady Storm claimed the fifth set 15-8.
The match featured 27 ties and 12 lead changes, with the second set offering 11 ties and five lead changes.
The first set was tied eight times up to 11 apiece. Trigg’s issue was attack errors as eight of their 30 came in the opening set and allowed the Lady Storm to go on an 11-3 run.
The back-and-forth action happened in the second set. Tied at 22, Calajia Mason came up with a block at the net for a side out for Hopkins Central. Two Trigg errors allowed the Lady Storm to win the set 25-23.
Trigg led wire to wire in the third set as Hopkins Central struggled with its serve. The Lady Storm had six of its 19 service errors in the third.
Trigg got out to a 15-5 lead in the fourth set, but communication breakdowns resulted in five attack errors during an 11-1 Lady Storm run that tied the set at 16-16.
The Lady Wildcats fell behind 21-19, but a pair of Grace Carver aces sparked a 6-3 run to end the set.
Mason had three straight aces as part of an 8-2 Lady Storm run to begin the fifth set, before Trigg got to within 8-7. However, Hopkins County Central was able to close out the set for its 12th straight win over Trigg County. Hopkins Central leads the all-time series 19-15.
The five-set match was Trigg’s first since a win over Hopkinsville last year. Hopkins Central beat Union County twice in five sets last year.
The Lady Wildcats were looking for their first five-set win after dropping the first two sets since 2015.
Mason had seven of Hopkins Central’s 20 aces in the match along with nine kills. Aalycia Stringer added 11 kills, nine digs, and three blocks. Emily Ballard offered up five aces, and Tori Crick had four aces, five digs, and 14 assists.
Hopkins County Central (2-10) will play at McLean County on Thursday.
Carver had 10 kills and five aces for Trigg County. Mackenzie Gusgeski had six kills and two aces, and Sierra Williams added five kills. Chloe Adams had 10 assists, and Lilah Booth had 12 digs.
Trigg County (2-9) will host Hickman County on Thursday.
