The Webster County Lady Trojans and the Heritage Christian Lady Warriors faced off in the semifinal round of the 2nd Region Volleyball Tournament on Wednesday evening. And it was HCA that was able to get the win after a very close fourth set win to close it out.
The first set was a very close one, as the two teams were tied at ten points apiece to start. Webster’s Chloe Soukup went for back-to-back kills, one of which went into the net, and the other out of bounds. This gave HCA a narrow 15-13 lead at a timeout, and they were able to keep it and win the first 25-23.
The second set was not nearly as close as the first, as the Lady Warriors got off to a 10-4 start, which made the Lady Trojans call an early timeout. The lead kept extending, and a kill from Hadlee Hayes gave Heritage the 25-13 victory in the second set to go up 2-0.
However, they were not able to close out the game with a win in the third set, as Webster’s Soukup was able to really get it going. The Lady Trojans kept feeding the Region 2 Player of the Year, and it worked, as they were able to get the win in the third set 25-14 and stay alive.
After Webster had gotten off to a fast start in the third set, HCA was able to do the same in the fourth. The Lady Warriors got out to a 6-0 lead with Makenzie McCarty serving, which led to a Webster timeout. They were able to come back a bit and make the set more competitive with a score of 21-16. But they weren’t done, as they kept going and evened up the set at 25 points apiece. There were then multiple ties and lead changes, but it all ended when McCarty got a kill to get the Lady Warriors the 28-26 win in the set.
HCA was able to get the victory despite the loss in the third set when they could have finished it out, and Lady Warriors Head Coach Ashton Craft had some jokes about the team’s inability to win the decisive set.
“We really have a habit of dropping that third set, it’s Lady Warrior fashion I suppose, because we have done it quite frequently this season,” Craft said. “But they held it together really well. They brought the energy back in the fourth set, which I love to see. They were able to hold themselves together, not let get the excitement and joy overcome the moment. They were able to buckle down, get serious, and do what needed to be done to secure the win.”
Heritage Christian will face off against the Henderson County Lady Colonels in the 2nd Region Championship on Thursday, October 30. The game ie scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Hopkins County Central.
