FRANKFORT — Crawfordsville may have played its best overall match of the season but it was not enough to advance in Sectional 20 as the Athenians fell to West Lafayette 25-14, 29-27, 25-17 Saturday morning at Frankfort.
“As a coach you want to see your team peak at the end of the season,’ Crawfordsville veteran head coach Kelly Johnson said. “I really feel like we peaked today. We played a very talented offensive team and they knew we were there. I can’t say enough about how well our girls stepped up today.”
The Athenians (14-14) entered the tournament having lost its final five matches of the season and dropped the first game of the match to the Red Devils (23-8) 25-14.
Then the tables turned a bit in the second game.
Crawfordsville raced out to a 12-3 lead. The West Lafayette managed to tie the set at 17 all before Crawfordsville took a 23-18 lead only to see the red Devils win 29-27.
In the second game, the Athenians had several chances to put the game away but just couldn’t get the game-winning point. Crawfordsville led 25-24 and 26-25.
“We were right there,” Johnson said. “We just couldn’t get that last point. Had we done that it would have made things so much more interesting.”
Service error were a major culprit in that second game. Crawfordsville committed five service errors after leading 15-9, including one when they were leading 26-25.
Crawfordsville’s last lead in the third game came at 7-6.
The match ended the careers of Abby Bannon and Lauren Kellerman — both of whom will be missed.
“Both Abby and Lauren will be missed,” Johnson said. “Abby has played her heart out for four years and really led this team. Lauren came out and, as a senior, learned a new sport. They were both great leaders on and off the court. This is a very young team and they did an outstanding job of offering leadership.”
Bannon had one of her best games as she ended with nine kills.
“She is such a smart player,” Johnson said.
Freshman Macy Bruton had eight kills and six digs, while freshman Halie Gayler added seven kills and a solo block. Alyx bannon added five kills and a solo block and Kellerman had two kills. Laine Schlicher led the team in assists with 16, while Shea Williamson added 14. Olivia Reed led the team in digs with 10, while Allyson Barton and Williamson each added five digs.
“We will miss Abby and Lauren, but our future is bright,” Johnson said. “We had two freshmen and three sophomores starting and we have more right there and coming up. If we work hard all year we could have a very bright future for the next several seasons, but you have to be willing to put in the work.”
