Lilah Klei
In its previous volleyball match on Thursday, Columbus East dropped a close first set to Franklin, and the Grizzly Cubs went on to win handily in the final two sets.
So when the Olympians pulled out a close first set against Jeffersonville on Saturday morning, the morale going into the rest of the match was much different than it had been on Thursday. This time, East cruised in the final two sets to finish off its first win of the season, a 26-24, 25-18, 25-14 Hoosier Hills Conference triumph.
“It was huge,” said Alison Eagleman, who picked up her first coaching victory. “I think with some teams, it’s really hard to push through to the end, and they just held their own and I’m so proud that they won that first set. Once you get over that hump, it really brings energy for the next two sets to really push forward and know that you’ve got everything you need to win.”
The Olympians (1-2, 1-0) led for most of the first set, only to see the Red Devils come back to take a 20-18 lead. East then led 24-21, but Jeff rallied to tie it at 24-24. The Olympians got a sideout and a tip kill from Chandler Harris to take a 1-0 lead.
“It definitely set the tone for the whole game, and it helped us really push through those last two sets,” junior hitter Lilah Klei said.
East jumped out to leads of 9-2 in the second set and 11-2 in the third set on its way to closing out the match.
“I think it’s definitely a new starting point,” Klei said. “We had a little slow start to our season, and I think this is really going to turn it around and pick us up. It’s a new leaf to turn over for our team.”
Addison Emery
“Our back row was a lot more consistent, as well as our blocking,” senior libero Addison Emery added. “We did not block a lot our first two (matches). We started mixing up our shots, which made a big difference on the court, and overall, we just played better as a team. It’s my last first home game, and I’m glad we pulled it out.”
Klei pounded nine kills, Krea Martin recorded 25 assists, Anika Jenkins had two blocks, Emery notched 11 digs and Lauren Smith served four aces to lead the Olympians. Jenkins added five kills and two aces, Kimberly Carothers had one block, Smith and Chloe Gill each tallied nine digs and Martin served two aces.
“We’ve been working on our blocking, and I think the girls did a great job adjusting today much better that our previous matches, and our passing was great today,” Eagleman said. “I’m excited. Now that they know that they can do it, I think there’s going to be quite a few more ‘W’s in our future.”
