Rematch goes to Lady Eagles

Three days after Corydon Central won a best of three match against Lanesville in the New Albany Invitational, the teams met again in Corydon.
This time, in a best of five format, the Lady Eagles needed every game to enact revenge on Corydon Central. Lanesville, which lost 2-0 the Saturday before, won in five, 25-10, 22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-13.
‘I had a few girls sick over the weekend against Corydon: Alexis (Kaufer) and Klaire (Henke),’ Lanesville coach Pamela Tobbe said. ‘Mentally, they knew they lost to Corydon Saturday and didn’t want to lose to them again. Knowing the opponent, we made some adjustments, but they had to prove to themselves they could win.’
Lanesville had absolutely no problem getting out to a fast start. Game one was all Lanesville. A block by Skylar Belden opened a 6-1 Lady Eagles’ lead. Corydon Central found some rhythm, using blocks by Hannah Marshall and Bailey Money, to cut the deficit to 9-8.
From then on, Corydon Central won a measly two points the rest of game one. Lanesville started to roll. Olivia Baird and Kaufer passed winners to open spots. Emily Davis and Belden put down kills. To end game one, Belden went to work, redirecting a kill attempt with a solo block then placing a smash inside the line for a 25-10 romp.
‘Our first game set the whole tempo for how we were going to play tonight, which was sporadic,’ Corydon Central coach Kim Briscoe said. ‘We talk all the time about playing hard whistle to whistle and hustling. That was two (5-foot-7) volleyball teams scrapping for points. The team that won tonight scrapped better in the end.’
Belden, an all-position player, found tons of success at the net. The junior closed the match with 18 kills and six blocks.
‘Skylar give us great kills,’ Tobbe said. ‘She’s one that leads by example. She gets us going.’
Lanesville held a lead in game two until a Sydney Oskin ace put Corydon Central up 12-11. It was part of an 11-3 scoring run by the Lady Panthers. Chelsey Smith had two blocks and kills, along with an ace during the span.
Lanesville, down six at one point, rallied to knot the game at 22 with a Lindsey Ash kill. Corydon Central closed out the final three points, highlighted by an Oskin ace off the top of the netting.
Corydon Central took the momentum to game three, winning it 25-19.
Although they trailed early in the first three games, the Lady Panthers raced out to a 5-0 lead behind Lanesville miscues and a Haley Skinner ace.
Rallying to force a game five started at the service line for the Lady Eagles. Lanna Shaffer dropped in consecutive aces. Davis and Belden had one each with Davis’ putting Lanesville up 11-9. Six ties took place in game four; the final, at 16-all, was broken by a Lela Board kill for Lanesville. From there, Board added another while Davis had two more attacks prompting game five.
‘Emily is a great all-around player,’ Tobbe said of Davis, who finished with nine kills and two aces. ‘You stick her anywhere and she’ll get it done. With her having so much experience in the back row, she knows what’s open when she’s in the front. She’s used to seeing how a defense moves.’
Belden began game five with two kills and closed it with one as well. Her team led through the early going until a lift call and a dig by Makenzie Episcopo gave Corydon Central a 12-11 edge.
Out of a timeout, Davis hit a winner to the deep corner. Lanesville won the match by taking four of the last five points, capped by a Belden hammer from the middle.
‘Volleyball is such a momentum thing, if you just scrap, things happen for you,’ Briscoe said. ‘At the end, their middle hitter wanted the ball and did what she wanted to do with it. I’m not sure who wanted the ball when we were in a position to win.’
In game five, Tobbe said she saw an improvement in the offensive firepower. It came while they adjusted to playing without some height (Nia Tomes and Megan Husband missed the game due to injuries).
‘We’re playing really short at the moment,’ Tobbe said. ‘I’ll tell the girls that certain spots are open, and they’ll go there. They tend to get a little happy going to the same spot when teams adjust. It all comes with practice. They are adjusting to new spots and rotations.’
Due to injuries, the team had a short practice going over rotations before boarding the bus for Corydon. They also put up extra work from the service line.
They had seven service errors but had 10 aces. Shaffer had four.
Corydon Central’s offense was led by Smith’s nine kills followed by four from Montana Brooks. Oskin closed with four aces.
‘It could have been anybody’s game tonight,’ Briscoe said. ‘I thought the last four games were a little more fun. Hats off to Lanesville. They had a revenge play and were fresh.’
Briscoe said she looks forward to the coming week when the Lady Panthers will play six matches, including four at their annual invitational on Saturday, which will begin at 10 a.m.