Crawfordsville volleyball had a double dose of reasons to celebrate on Monday as they hosted Clinton Prairie. CHS joined many teams throughout the state in having their annual ‘Pink Out Night’ as they raise awareness for breast cancer as October is breast cancer awareness month. On the court, the Athenians notched a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-16, 25-17) over the visiting Gophers. Macy Bruton, who is up for the IndyStar player of the week, continued her dominating season with 21 kills, 15 digs, three assists and an ace. Samantha Rohr added eight digs and an ace, Halle Elliot 19 digs, Jessica Tribble 34 assists and an ace, Hallie Gayler seven kills, an ace and a block, Devan Johnson notched 10 kills while Elyse Widmer ended with three digs.
“We knew going in that Clinton Prairie looked pretty similar to use on paper and that we’d have to play well as a team,” Crawfordsville coach Kelly Johsnon said. “They hung with us, but once we took off, we were were in good shape.”
Bruton who continues to lead the state in kills was honored last week before their match against Danville for achieving the rare feat of 2,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. After the win she took a moment to reflect on what’s been nothing short of a historic career and a special senior season.
“It’s been a goal of mine to get that all season and now I’m just honored to finally achieve those marks,” Bruton said. “It shows all the effort that I’ve put into the sport and not just hitting but in the back row as well. All the numbers and awards that I’ve gotten are a product of the hard work over these last four years.”
The Gophers in the match didn’t go quietly as CHS had to work to put the scrappy Clinton Prairie team away in each set. Leading 10-8 in the first, Crawfordsville used a 8-2 run to pull away. The second set featured much of the same, this time CHS was trailing 11-13 but proceeded to rally off six straight before adding a small 4-0 run to ultimately close out set two. The two teams were deadlocked at 13-13 in the final set before once again the Athenians scored four in a row and 12 of the last 16 to seal the sweep.
“You want those runs like we had to come at the end,” Johnson said. “I’ve always said that it doesn’t matter who you’re playing in volleyball, the first few points will typically be close because both teams are getting into the swing of things and feeling one another out. Someone usually takes control and that’s what we were able to do.”
Crawfordsville with the victory reaches the 20-win mark for the second straight season as their record improves to 20-9 on the year. Crawfordsville has two more games left this week, which is the final week of the regular season. A trip to Frankfort is on the dockett for Tuesday before CHS concludes the regular season on Thursday when they welcome Covington.
“We want to have three wins this week,” Johnson said of the final week of the season. “We’re going to have to work hard to get those three wins but we are playing with a little edge and want to end out conference season on a high note before coming back here for senior night.”
