Cougars fight to finish in tight sectional battle against Cumberland
ST. ELMO – For the second straight season, Cumberland eliminated South Central from the sectional tournament, defeating the Cougars in three sets, 17-25, 28-26, 22-25 on Tuesday.
In a fierce back-and-forth battle, coach Mary Brimberry said her team never gave up during the Class 1A Sectional, which especially showed in the second set after the Cougars erased a six-point deficit to take the set.
“I told the girls, ‘We can be sad that the season is over, but we can’t be sad with how we played,’” Brimberry said.
South Central (28-6) was dominant in the first 10 points of the match, taking a 9-1 lead. But a stingy Cumberland squad inched back over the next 13 points to cut the Cougar lead to 12-11.
The Pirates had been making several errors in the early going, and once those were corrected, it seemed to Brimberry that Cumberland took control of the match.
“They’re a good team and seemed to always have control,” she said. “They were going where they wanted to go with (the ball).”
South Central held its lead until Cumberland strung together eight straight serves to take a 21-15 advantage.
Much of the same happened in the second set, with South Central’s early 5-1 lead erased by strong serving from the Pirates.
But the Cougars rallied late, relying on Katie Crain’s serve to keep them alive when she took over with South Central down, 24-23. At the end of her service, the game was knotted at 25.
A kill by Emily Atwood three plays later set up the game-winning serve by Lexi Schafer, which resulted in a Cumberland attack error and a 28-26 score.
“We didn’t quit,” Brimberry said. “We played in the atmosphere, and I really liked that.”
In the third set, the Cougars once again took an early lead, this time taking a 7-3 advantage. South Central held the lead until a 10-10 tie, at which point the teams started playing point for point.
The set would be tied nine more times, the latest at 21, but Cumberland’s strong hitting was too much for the Cougars to overcome in the end.
“We knew they were going to be big swingers,” Brimberry said. “But we had some attacks, too.”
The Cougars advanced to the sectional tournament for the second straight year after defeating second-seeded Clay City for Brimberry’s seventh regional title on Saturday, 25-21, 25-15.
Sectional Semifinals
Tuesday, Nov. 2
vs. Cumberland
Set 1: CHS 25, SCHS 17
Set 2: SCHS 28, CHS 26
Set 3: CHS 25, SCHS 22
Kills – Atwood, 11; Kinzie Neilson, 5; Katie Crain, 4; Carissa Lotz, 1; Dani Hall, 1; Haley Rambo, 1.
Assists – Sarah Kramer, 12; Lotz, 7; Hall, 2; Schafer, 1.
Points – Schafer, 18; Kramer, 12; Lotz, 12; Katie Crain, 9; Atwood, 7; Neilson, 6; Natalie Chapman, 3.
Record – 28-6
Regional Finals
Saturday, Oct. 30
vs. Clay City
Set 1: SCHS 25, CCHS 21
Set 2: SCHS 25, CCHS 15
Kills – Atwood, 9; Katie Crain, 6; Neilson 5; Lotz, 1; Hall, 1; Rambo, 1.
Service Aces – Lotz, 2; Neilson, 1.
Assists – Kramer, 12; Lotz, 8; Atwood, 1.
Points – Kramer, 11; Schafer, 8; Neilson, 7; Lotz, 7; Atwood, 7; Katie Crain, 6; Chapman, 4.
Record – 28-5
Regional Semifinals
Wednesday, Oct. 27
vs. North Clay
Set 1: SCHS 25, NCHS 15
Set 2: SCHS 25, NCHS 13
Kills – Atwood, 8; Neilson, 6; Lotz, 3; Katie Crain, 3; Schafer, 1.
Service Aces – Atwood, 2; Lotz, 2; Kramer, 1.
Assists – Kramer, 10; Lotz, 7.
Points – Atwood, 11; Lotz, 11; Kramer, 11; Schafer, 7; Neilson, 6; Katie Crain, 4.
Record – 27-5
