A 15-2 run in a pivotal third set was just what Crawfordsville’s volleyball team needed Thursday night.
After taking the first set convincingly (25-18), the Athenians let Greencastle back into the game with a 25-19 win in the second set and the Tiger Cubs jumped to a 4-0 lead in the third set.
And then a flip switched and the Athenians rolled to their second-straight win this week.
Crawfordsville went on a 15-2 run to win the third set 25-14 and held on for a 25-23 win in the fourth set to seal the 3-1 victory over Greencastle.
“On the third set we just had to settle down and get back into our play and not get sucked into their game,” Crawfordsville volleyball coach Kelly Johnson said. “and that’s what lost us partially in that second game. We’ve got to not worry about what they’re doing and play our game.”
Led by Hallie Gayler and Alyx Bannon, the Athenians came out of the gate on fire.
“Hallie did a great job,” Johnson said “She gets excited. And Hallie is always on top of things and has a great attitude and there’s not anybody that works any harder. And Alyx served well and played some defense back there we kind of switched that up from last year because she’s been serving well.”
Gayler had 14 kills and three blocks at the net, while Bannon’s versatility produced a pair of blocks, four kills and three aces.
Johnson attributes a hiccup in the Athenians’ passing to the letdown in the second set.
“Our passing kind of went away in our game and that was really the only thing that hurt us,” she said. “It’s early and we expect to have some havoc once in a while and I thought Greencastle did a really nice job hustling tonight.”
Macy Bruton led Crawfordsville’s offense with 27 kills, while Laine Schlicher had 42 assists and eight digs. Halle Elliott had 11 digs and Shea Williamson 10 digs and four kills. Olivia Reed had 16 digs and Liddy McCarty a kill.
Crawfordsville will play in the North Putnam tournament on Saturday.
