The Todd County Central Lady Rebels are headed back to the 13th District championship match for the second year in a row and will get another shot at ending that streak against the Logan County Lady Cougars in the process. The Lady Rebels advanced with an impressive straight set win over Franklin-Simpson Monday night in Elkton.
The Lady Rebels were ready to go from the start Monday night, scoring the first four points of the match to take the early 4-0 lead in the opening set and prompting a timeout for the Lady Wildcats.
However, Franklin-Simpson was never able to recover from the quick start for the Lady Rebels. With Aubri Penick controlling things at the net, and Chloe Collins going on a 3-ace run in the middle of the set, the lead ballooned out to 15-2. From there, the Lady Rebels cruised on out to a 25-9 win to take a one set to none lead.
Aubri Penick had a big first set with four kills and one service ace. Chloe Collins added three aces of her own.
Todd County got a big kill from Aubri Penick to open the second set and take a quick 1-0 lead. There was something about the way that the Lady Rebels scored, however, that did not set well with Franklin-Simpson head coach Jamie Pennington, as he called an immediate time out after the opening point of the second.
That timeout did not pay immediate benefits as Todd County Central was able to run the lead out to 10-2 behind powerful play from Aubri Penick. Penick had four quick kills in the opening moments of the set as the Lady Rebels built their lead.
Behind the play off junior Mareena Kay, the Lady Wildcats made a move to get back into the set. Kay came up with a trio of kills and got help from Addison Shelton and Caydence Johnson as Franklin-Simpson got on a run. That run was capped off with a kill from Johnson that pulled the Lady Wildcats even at 20-20.
But then it was Aubri Penick time. The junior came up with two kills and an ace over the final five points as the Lady Rebels gutted out a tough 25-22 win to go up two sets to none. Allyssa Wofford also came up big in the set with 4 kills and a service ace. Todd Central also got some timely plays from Chloe Collins.
In the third set, the Lady Rebels actually fell behind 13-10 midway through, but there would be no denying the Lady Rebels this time around. With Penick, Wofford, Collins, and Shelby Holderman leading the charge, the Lady Rebels came charging back, got to the lead, and then held off the Lady Wildcats to take the set 25-21 and complete the sweep to advance.
Aubri Penick was virtually unstoppable on the attack, finishing with 19 kills. Allyssa Wofford also hit double digits with 13. She added 8 digs to her totals.
Shelby Holderman was at an elite level setting the table for her crew, ending up with 28 assists in the match.
Todd Central also got a stellar effort from Chloe Collins. In addition to her early match serving run, Collins ended up with 15 digs and was a key part of the defensive effort for the night from the Lady Rebels.
The Lady Rebels (16-10) move on to the 13th District championship game Tuesday night, where they will face their nemesis Logan County and their former coach Steve Lyne. The Lady Cougars advanced by overpowering Russellville in three sets earlier Monday evening.
Start time for the championship match is 6pm Tuesday in Elkton.
