Columbus North’s Karen Dutro (13) is fired up after blocking a serve at the net during a match against Bloomington North at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
It was a back-and-forth battle Tuesday night between Columbus North and Bloomington North.
After the match was tied with each team taking a set, the Bull Dogs got the extra push to take the next two sets and claim the 25-20, 14-25, 25-14, 25-21 Conference Indiana volleyball victory over the Cougars.
“We have such a good core that we can bring each other up. No one is down. They know what they need to do as a team on the court, and they do it,” North coach Jenna Ortega said. “We have finally started mastering a good lineup that we really like and mesh well with. They knew they were making those errors. The second set was on us. It wasn’t anything (Bloomington North) was doing, it was just silly errors. It was cleaning up and refocusing.”
Columbus North’s Katelynn Mabis digs out a serve as North’s Ally Wetteschurack looks on during a match against Bloomington North at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Bloomington North looked like it was going to run away with the opening set leading 6-2, but Kennedy Horn pounded a kill and the ensuing ace to help start a huge run to lead 8-7. The teams traded points during the middle of the set until the Bull Dogs (5-5, 1-0) open the scoring with a 9-2 scoring run to lead 21-15 after the Cougars led previously 13-12.
Bloomington North once again possessed a 6-2 lead in the second set. This time, the Cougars didn’t let it slip away. They gained a 12-6 advantage that forced a timeout from Columbus North. Bloomington North’s momentum didn’t stall following the timeout as they kept the attack going to extend the lead to 20-10 to tie the match at one set apiece.
The Bull Dogs responded back in a big way to start the third set, taking a 10-4 lead. After the Cougars cut it to 11-7, Columbus North went on a 12-2 run to lead 23-9 and closed out the set to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Bull Dogs started strong once again by taking a 9-5 early lead in the fourth set. Bloomington North charged back to tie it at 10-10. Columbus North scored four straight points to lead 14-10. The Cougars then scored three straight points to make it 14-13. The Bull Dogs got the push needed by scoring five straight points to make it 18-13. The cushion was enough for Columbus North to close the set and match.
Horn led the way with 16 kills, three assist blocks and two aces for the Bull Dogs. Morgan Osborn finished with 15 digs and three aces, Katelynn Mabis had 10 digs and two aces and Reese Edwards totaled 29 assists.
Also for Columbus North, Roselynn Venegas had 11 digs. Karen Dutro finished with five kills, three assist blocks and two solo blocks and Kaitlin White added five kills.
“Everybody has their own part and that’s one thing that I love about this team is that we stress that we are all one,” Ortega said. “Whether you’re on the court or off the court, we will win as a team and everyone plays a huge part in that whether you are cheering on the sideline or on the court. Being one and knowing and trusting in each other, we are improving daily on that.”
