If Columbus North is looking for a silver lining from Tuesday night’s loss to Class A power Trinity Lutheran, it’s that the Bull Dogs took a set off the Cougars and were competitive in the other three.
Trinity, which has played a schedule loaded with Class 4A teams and owns a four-set win over perennial power Center Grove, made enough plays Tuesday to claim a 25-19, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16 victory.
“They presented blocking-wise and hitting-wise some things we haven’t seen, so those kind of teams that show us other options and having to adjust to them, that’s good for us,” Trinity coach Janet VanLiew said. “We waited, but we did eventually make some adjustments, so that’s good. We tried to do it in the third, but we did make those adjustments in the fourth. We just spread out our offense and worked on some different sets that would make their middles work harder because they’re very good.”
The Bull Dogs (2-5) had early leads in each set. They were able to sustain it in the third after one of those middle hitters, Kennedy Horn, served them to a 5-1 lead. The Cougars (4-3) came back to tie the set at 13-13, but North regained control, and leading 22-20, Karen Dutro served out the set.
Trailing 3-2 in the fourth set, Trinity scored five consecutive points, and the Bull Dogs couldn’t recover.
Carson Bowling, one of four four-year starters for the Cougars, led them with 13 kills and two aces. Addie Darlage recorded 33 assists, Rachel Bonde had four blocks, Laura Roeder notched 20 digs and Presley Meyer served two aces.
Also for Trinity, Madison Keith tallied eight kills and 11 digs. Bailey Bonde pounded seven kills, and Bowling added three blocks.
Dutro recorded 15 kills and five blocks, and Horn had five blocks and three aces to lead North. Reese Edwards recorded eight kills, and Morgan Osborn notched 16 digs.
Also for the Bull Dogs, Horn pounded 10 kills. Lexi Denny tallied nine assists, and Holly Evans added seven assists.
“They’ve always been a good team,” North coach Jenna Ortega said. “We came back and played better than what we did on Saturday. I feel like we finally are getting in the groove and playing like they know how they can play. So we’re making progress.”
