In their final home game of the year, the Lady Cougar volleyball team played some of its best defense of the season as they handed the visiting Edmonson County Lady Wildcats a 2-1 loss, 25-18, 20-25, 25-18.

In the only other match of the evening, the JV squad also won in three games, 16-21, 21-10, 15-11.

VARSITY

These two teams were evenly matched and in the first game stayed within a point or two of each other until the very end, when the Lady Cougars built a narrow lead, then hung on for the win.

With Samara Heaverin serving at 1-1, a Lady Wildcat hitting error and a Heaverin ace gave the Lady Cougars an early 3-1 lead.

Edmonson came back to take a 3-4 lead and the two teams traded one-point leads until the Lady Cougars went up by two at 14-12 following two aces by Heaverin and a Lady Wildcat hitting error.

They increased the lead to three at 16-13, then made it four at 18-14 on an Edmonson hitting error. Still leading by three at 19-16, an ace from Rachel Crawford, another hitting error and a kill from Heaverin pushed the lead to six at 22-16.

Edmonson closed to within four at 22-18, but Grayson County earned a rally point and Kelsey Duvall served out for the first-game win on two more errors by the Lady Wildcats.

Edmonson County began getting its hitting in order in the second game, and with Kourtney Partridge, Jessica Sullivan and Susan Corder putting balls away, the Lady Wildcats raced out to an early 1-9 advantage.

An Erica Higdon kill and two aces by Heaverin got the Lady Cougars closer at 5-9. They pulled to within three points at 10-13, then with Shea Boone serving, got to within a point at 14-15, a 13-6 run for the Lady Cougars since their earlier eight-point hole.

Grayson County trailed by two, 16-18, when Heaverin went back to the line. A hitting error, a kill from Erica Clemons and another Heaverin ace gave the Lady Cougars their first lead of the second game at 19-18, but they couldn’t hold it.

Edmonson’s Amy Childress took over the serve with a 20-21 lead and served out to tie the match at a game apiece. Corder had a kill on game-point to give her team the win.

In the final game, the Lady Cougars led 4-2 early on, then fell behind. A Sullivan ace gave the Lady Wildcats their largest lead of the game, six points at 10-16, but the Lady Cougars began getting their act together defensively.

All the shots that the Lady Wildcats had been getting in for kills never reached the ground. The back row of the Lady Cougars began getting to every ball and getting good shots on the return as they slowly got back in the game.

Still trailing by one at 16-17, a long volley ensued, with the Lady Cougar returning every ball until Edmonson’s Amy Childress put a ball in the net to tie it at 17-17. Higdon had another kill to give Grayson County the lead at 18-17, then another spate of great defense turned into a Lady Cougar point as the Lady Wildcats committed another mistake to make it 19-17.

The visitors earned a sideout to make it 19-18, but when Brittany Shepherd’s kill attempt went long, the Lady Cougars got the ball back leading 20-18 and they never gave it back. With Higdon serving, an ace made it 22-18. Andrea Pauley then had back-to-back kills to bring it to match point at 24-18, before Higdon delivered the coup-de-gras with another ace.

JV

The Lady Cougars dug themselves a big hole in the first game, but dug themselves out and took a late lead, before falling in the end.

With her team leading by a point, Edmonson’s Riley Cowles had four aces in a 9-0 run that put the Lady Wildcats in front 3-13.

The Lady Cougars earned a sideout at 4-13, giving the serve to Becca Crawford. Kills from Katie Newton, Jessika Young and Amber Smith closed the gap to six at 7-13.

Three hitting errors by the visitors brought it to 10-13 before another Smith kill closed the gap to two at 11-13. Newton and Smith then had back-to-back kills to even the match at 13 apiece before a Cougar hitting error gave the ball back to the Lady Wildcats.

Smith later served an ace to give the Lady Cougars their only lead of the game at 15-14, but Edmonson won it back and went on to the win.

Tied at 16-16, Morgan Childress served out for the Lady Wildcats. Childress came up with a kill on game-point to seal the victory.

Grayson County turned the tables in the second game. Getting a rally point on the first volley, the Lady Cougars scored seven straight to grab an 8-0 lead. Young served four aces during the run.

Edmonson came back to within five points, at 10-5, but the Lady Cougars put on another to make it a runaway. Crawford took over the serve at 12-6 and served seven straight, including a pair of aces to make it 19-6, and they went on to a 21-16 win.

In the deciding, 15-point match, the Lady Cougars jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back. Young had three more aces in a 6-0 run.

The Lady Wildcats pulled to within two points of the lead twice, the last time at 13-11, but the Lady Cougars took over at 14-11 following a hitting error and served for the match. With Smith at the line. Newton put away a well-placed push shot to give her team the hard-earned victory.