CLOVERDALE — A come from behind effort turned into a dominating 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-15, 26-24) win for Southmont over North Putnam in the Class 2A volleyball sectional championship at Cloverdale on Saturday night. The sectional title is the first for the Mounties since 1993, and comes just a year after losing to Greencastle 3-1 in the final.
“I didn’t really want them to focus on last year,” Southmont coach Lauran Nichols said. “But I just wanted them to remember how last year felt.”
After the Cougars (23-10) slowly pulled away to take the first set, the Mounties (24-10) refocused, and were not about to let history repeat itself.
They held off a feisty North Putnam comeback in the second set, before carrying the momentum into a third set, where outside hitter Lexi Nelson got Southmont on a roll.
“I’m just glad we were able to prove ourselves,” she said. “Because last year it was a tough game, but this year we came with more fire and intensity, and it just means so much to us that we could pull out the sectional win.”
The senior led the Mounties with 25 kills, and once against was instrumental in another Mountie’s comeback in the fourth set. Trailing 12-7, Southmont won nine of the next 10 points to take a 16-13 lead, eventually leading to a 26-24 win in the decisive set.
“The girl works so hard,” Nichols said about Nelson. “She is always so receptive for whatever I have to tell her. She’s such a tough hitter, she’s so mart, and she hits the ball hard.”
Nelson wasn’t alone though, Kaley Remley added 14 kills, while Sidney Veatch had a pair of blocks and 44 assists. Natalie Manion added 24 digs.
However, no statistic was probably bigger than freshman Chelsea Veatch’s seven aces to go along with 14 digs. After the Mounties had nine service errors in the first two sets, Veatch led a quick turnaround in the serving department.
“When we serve well, we play well,” Nichols said.
No Quit
Following a 3-0 loss to Riverton Parke in early October, the Mounties had lost three in a row, and it looked as if the season was falling apart with just days before the sectional.
“We had a rough match at Riverton Parke on Thursday night,” Nichols said. “And we had a little meeting on the bus on the way home, and kind of got some things out, and how the girls were really feeling. Just express what was going on in their heads and I always think that’s good.”
Southmont responded by going 2-2 in the North Montgomery Invitational and a sweep over Frankfort on senior night, before riding the momentum into the sectional.
“I think the biggest thing is you go into a sectional championship and you’re down 1-0 and then win three straight,” Nichols said. “We talked about it on the way up here, these girls just don’t quit. They’re tough and mentally tough. We have our valleys, but they always find their way back, and they never quit on each other.”
Sweet Redemption
Not only did the Mounties defeat a tough Cloverdale team in the sectional opener for the second time this season, but Southmont overcame a 3-0 loss to Riverton Parke less than two weeks ago, and swept the Panthers in the sectional semi-final to advance to the championship.
“When we looked at the sectional opponents, they were all good teams, and all teams we had played and played tough.”
The competition will only continue to stiffen, as the Mounties will clash with Indianapolis Scecina (20-10) in the regional semifinal at 12 p.m. at Heritage Christian on Saturday.
