After being sent to the sidelines by Caldwell County in the quarterfinals in 2024, the Henderson County Lady Colonels will be heading back to the regional volleyball semifinals Wednesday night. The Lady Colonels advanced by taking down Madisonville-North Hopkins for the fifth straight time in Monday night’s second quarterfinal match at Hopkins County Central.
The match was the first between the two teams in the 2nd Region tournament since they met in the 2022 championship, which Madisonville won three sets to one.
Henderson County’s big swinging came out in full attack mode in the opening set against the Lady Maroons. Caeson Hargitt, Lilly Payne, and Sarah Loffland helped to get the Lady Colonels out to a quick 6-1 lead. Emerson Sword and Kylee Lyons then took the baton as Henderson County moved out to a 16-8 lead.
Leah Moody got on a service run late in the first set as the Lady Maroons made a charge to close to within 19-15, but they could get no closer. Henderson County finished out the set with the final six points, including an emphatic kill from Sword on the final point, to take a 25-15 win and go up one set to none in the match.
Emerson Sword had three kills and an ace in the first to lead Henderson. Kylee Lyons added two kills of her own. For the Lady Maroons, Leah Moody had a kill, a block, and two service aces.
The second started off as if it would be more of the same. Behind Sword and Lyons, Henderson County ran out to a quick 8-3 lead. But the Lady Maroons were not going to go down quietly this time.
Paced by the play of Leah Moody and Sadie Kirk, back came Madisonville, scoring 6 straight points to take a 9-8 lead. Henderson then answered with an 8-2 run to go up 16-11. However, in the second, the Lady Colonels developed some service issues, and the Lady Maroons took advantage to get back to within 19-18.
A 5-2 run looked to have Henderson ready to close out the set, but the Lady Maroons made one last run. Madisonville closed to within 24-23 on a service ace from Mashyla McAdoo, but Kylee Lyons ended the run and the set with a big kill to give Henderson a 25-23 win and a two sets to none lead.
Lyons and Sword combined for four kills in the set to lead the Lady Colonels. Sadie Kirk had three kills and Leah Moody two for the Lady Maroons.
The third set saw Lyons, at the net, and Addison Kirtley, at the service line, get Henderson County out to a 13-9 lead. After a pair of close calls went against the Lady Maroons, the Lady Colonels got the momentum they needed to quickly close out the match. An 11-1 run effectively slammed the door on the Lady Maroons season, and Henderson County went on to take the third set and the sweep with a 25-13 win.
Kylee Lyons ended up with three kills in the set. Kamryn Raley added three service aces.
Henderson County (26-9) moves on to Wednesday night’s first semifinal, where the northern Lady Colonels will take on Christian County, who advanced with a sweep of Livingston Central Monday night.
Henderson and Christian met back on September 30 with the northern Lady Colonels picking up the win in a five-set thriller.
